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
Hilary Bailey Hilary Bailey Hilary Bailey (19 September 1936 – 19 January 2017) was a British writer, critic and editor. Bailey attended Newnham College, University of Cambridge, where she was a founder-member of the Cambridge University Women's Union. She was born in Bromley, Kent. Her books include "Polly Put the Kettle On", "Mrs Mulvaney", "Hannie Richards" and "All the Days of My Life", with a heroine who suffers the fate of all women who step away from what is expected of them. She wrote a biography of Vera Brittain, and sequels to "Jane Eyre" and "The Turn of the Screw", a novel