Irene Shubik plays Shubik had produced for "Play for Today" was John Mortimer’s “Rumpole of the Bailey” (broadcast 17 December 1975), starring Leo McKern as the eponymous barrister. McKern had greatly enjoyed playing the role and had indicated it was a part he would be interested in returning to. Shubik commissioned six new "Rumpole" scripts from John Mortimer with a view to making a series but a change of senior personnel in the BBC led to the project being put on hold. In late 1976, Shubik departed the BBC for Thames Television and brought the "Rumpole" scripts with her. Shubik produced the
Rumpole of the Bailey (radio series) were special radio adaptations of stories first published in book format after the end of the final TV series and some were brand-new, purpose-written episodes created for radio. Five different actors – including Leo McKern – portrayed Horace Rumpole in these 40 different episodes. 1980 – One series – a total of thirteen episodes featured Maurice Denham as Horace Rumpole. 2003 – 2012 – In this period there were seven mini-seasons – a total of eighteen episodes featuring Timothy West as Horace Rumpole. West's real-life wife Prunella Scales appeared as Rumpole's wife Hilda. The seven mini-seasons were produced in 2003,