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
Bachelor Father (UK TV series) Bachelor Father (UK TV series) Bachelor Father is a British sitcom starring Ian Carmichael that aired for two series from 1970 to 1971. It was written by Richard Waring. "Bachelor Father" is loosely based on the life of Peter Lloyd Jeffock. Jeffock was a bachelor who had fostered twelve children. He later wrote an autobiography called "Only Uncle". Richard Waring, who wrote "Bachelor Father", based some of the plots on incidents told in "Only Uncle". Waring said that he would have kept more to "Only Uncle", but many of the true stories were so far-fetched, he thought the public wouldn't