Rumpole of the Bailey drama series. Impressed with "Rumpole of the Bailey", Lambert offered Shubik the opportunity to bring the series to Thames. John Mortimer readily agreed, since it would mean more money, and Shubik (and "Rumpole") duly left the BBC in late 1976. "Rumpole of the Bailey" made its Thames Television debut on 3 April 1978 in a series of six episodes. These introduced and established the supporting characters including Guthrie Featherstone (Peter Bowles), Claude Erskine-Browne (Julian Curry) and Phyllida Trant (Patricia Hodge). The role of Hilda was recast, with Peggy Thorpe-Bates taking on the part. Other than McKern, David Yelland (who played
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