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
Rumpole of the Bailey (book series) a collection of tales drawn from across the broad canon of Rumpole short stories. And one volume of Christmas-themed stories that had each been previously published in a magazine rather than in a Rumpole book. Contains all six short stories in the 1978 collection "Rumpole of the Bailey"; all six short stories in the 1979 collection "The Trials of Rumpole" and the 1980 single-story novel "Rumpole's Return" Contains all seven short stories in the 1981 collection "Regina V. Rumpole"; all six short stories in the 1983 collection "Rumpole and the Golden Thread" and all seven short stories in the 1987