In "Nobody Kills Santa Claus", the second episode of the first series (transmitted 30 January 1965), Marker plays comparatively little part in the plot. The episode does establish key aspects of Marker's character: his modest lifestyle arising from his modest fees for his work—the oft-quoted "six guineas a day plus expenses" (which became £6.30 a day in the later Thames-produced episodes, once Britain converted to decimal currency)—his shabby office, and the fact that he is often compelled to take on almost any offer of work just to earn his living. The plot concerns Marker being hired to protect a rather unlikeable businessman, Carson, who is receiving death threats. In keeping with the series' ethos of downplaying physical violence, Marker insists on being employed as a chauffeur rather than a bodyguard. He ends up taking a physical beating for his unlikeable client—a beating that is mostly off-screen and one that the viewer only sees the results of. The episode ends with Marker refusing an offer of permanent employment by Carson and returning to his freelance ways.