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
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