Rumpole of the Bailey debut on 17 December 1975 to good reviews by the critics. Aware of the potential for further stories centred on Rumpole, Irene Shubik approached the BBC's Head of Plays, Christopher Morahan, and obtained permission from him to commission a further six "Rumpole of the Bailey" scripts from John Mortimer. However, Morahan left his post at the BBC a short time later and his successor was not interested in turning "Rumpole of the Bailey" into a series. At around this time, Shubik was contacted by Verity Lambert, Head of Drama at Thames Television, who was looking for ideas for an up-market
Mark Bailey (writer) White House" (2008) and "The Fence" (2010), which "examines the construction of the seven-hundred-mile fence along the . . . border between Mexico and the United States." "The Fence" had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Bailey also wrote the 2012 film "Ethel", which "chronicles the life of Ethel Skakel Kennedy." Ethel was nominated for five Primetime Emmys, including one for Bailey (outstanding writing for nonfiction programming). Bailey was also awarded the Humanitas Prize for his work on the film. With Keven McAlester, Bailey cowrote "Last Days in Vietnam" (2014), which "reconstructs . . . the tragic final days