Rumpole of the Bailey (radio series) Rumpole of the Bailey (radio series) Rumpole of the Bailey is a radio series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer based on the television series "Rumpole of the Bailey". Five different actors portrayed Horace Rumpole in these episodes: Leo McKern, Maurice Denham, Timothy West, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Julian Rhind-Tutt. Since 1980 there were a number of different BBC radio productions derived from the Rumpole stories. Essentially there were two different series and three Christmas specials – yielding a grand total of 40 episodes. Some were new radio adaptations of scripts previously produced for TV; some
Rumpole of the Bailey a private citizen rather than for the crown, but he proved that the defendant was innocent and then reaffirmed, "from now on, Rumpole only defends".) Some of Rumpole's clients feel that things would have been better for them if they had been found guilty and resent him for getting them off. Mortimer's 2009 obituary in "The Daily Telegraph" confirmed that Rumpole was, in part, based on a chance meeting in court with James Burge QC: In the television series, where Rumpole first appeared, there is some consistency with regard to Rumpole's backstory. The original play is set in 1974, and