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
The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series) McKern ("Rumpole of the Bailey"), Alfie Bass, Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell ("Steptoe and Son"), Richard O'Sullivan ("Man About the House"), Billie Whitelaw, Ronald Allen, and Gordon Jackson. John Schlesinger as an actor appeared in three episodes as singing minstrels (Hale and Alan a Dale (series 2)). A number of actors appeared in supporting roles in most episodes, for series 1 these include: Victor Woolf, Willoughby Gray, and John Longden, and for later series include: Paul Hansard, Morris Barry, Patrick Troughton, Wilfrid Brambell, Nigel Davenport, Kevin Stoney, Ronald Hines, and Max Faulkner, who also did stunt/double work. Frank Maher