Rumpole of the Bailey is a radio series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer based on the television series Rumpole of the Bailey . [1] Five different actors portrayed Horace Rumpole in these episodes: Leo McKern, Maurice Denham, Timothy West, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Julian Rhind-Tutt.
Since 1980 there were a number of different BBC radio productions derived from the Rumpole stories. Essentially there were two different series and three Christmas specials – yielding a grand total of 40 episodes. Some were new radio adaptations of scripts previously produced for TV; some 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 as Horace Rumpole in these 40 different episodes.
1980 – One series – a total of thirteen 30 minute episodes featured Maurice Denham as Horace Rumpole.
2003 – 2012 – In this period, there were seven mini-seasons – a total of eighteen 45 minute 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, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. In the latter two mini-seasons (2010 and 2012) there were also actors – Benedict Cumberbatch and Jasmine Hyde – portraying the "young Rumpole" and "young Hilda".
2014 – 2015 – In this period there were two mini-seasons – a total of six episodes featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jasmine Hyde reprising their roles as "young" Rumpole and Hilda (these episodes did not feature West and Scales as the present-day Rumpoles).
2016 – In this period there were two mini-series – a total of four episodes with Julian Rhind-Tutt taking over the role of Rumpole and Jasmine Hyde reprising her role as Hilda.
2017 – A further three-part miniseries starring Julian Rhind-Tutt and Jasmine Hyde was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2017.
There were also three one-off Christmas specials produced by BBC Radio in 1996, 1997 and 2001. Featuring respectively Timothy West, Leo McKern and Desmond Barrit as Horace Rumpole.
There have been two series of Rumpole stories adapted for radio and three stand-alone radio specials.
The first series consisted of a single season of 13 episodes. It was broadcast in 1980. It starred Maurice Denham as Horace Rumpole and Margot Boyd as Hilda Rumpole.
The second series has consisted to date of ten short "mini-seasons" – totaling 28 episodes. The series started in 2003 and was still being produced as of 2016. The first seven mini-seasons starred Timothy West as Horace Rumpole and his real-life wife Prunella Scales as Hilda. Two latter mini-seasons have starred Benedict Cumberbatch as Rumpole and Jasmine Hyde as Hilda, with Julian Rhind-Tutt replacing Cumberbatch in the latest mini-season (2016).
A single series of 13 episodes. Broadcast July–October 1980
Twelve mini-seasons (to date). Broadcast 2003–2018.
There have been three stand-alone radio episodes broadcast by BBC Radio during the Christmas season in different years
Featuring Timothy West as Rumpole. Produced by Pam Fraser Solomon. First broadcast: December 1996
Featuring Leo McKern as Rumpole. Abridged and directed by Bob Sinfield. Produced by Ken Phillips. First broadcast: 30 December 1997
Featuring Desmond Barrit as Rumpole. First broadcast: 25 December 2001
Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in Help! (1965), Thomas Cromwell in A Man for All Seasons (1966), Tom Ryan in Ryan's Daughter (1970), Harry Bundage in Candleshoe (1977), Paddy Button in The Blue Lagoon (1980), Dr. Grogan in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Father Imperius in Ladyhawke (1985), and the role that made him a household name as an actor, Horace Rumpole, whom he played in the British television series Rumpole of the Bailey. He also portrayed Carl Bugenhagen in the first and second instalments of The Omen series and Number Two in the TV series The Prisoner.
Sir John Clifford Mortimer was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for short stories about a barrister named Horace Rumpole, adapted from episodes of the TV series Rumpole of the Bailey also written by Mortimer.
Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, often underdogs. The popularity of the TV series led to the stories being presented in other media, including books and radio.
Irene Shubik was a British television producer and story editor, known for her contribution to the development of the single play in British television drama. Beginning her career in television at ABC Weekend TV, she worked on Armchair Theatre as a story editor, where she devised the science fiction anthology series Out of this World.
Rumpole and the Primrose Path is an anthology of light hearted legal comedy short stories by writer John Mortimer. It is the 12th in a series based in part on his own past experiences as a barrister but also notable for their use of themes topical at the time each was published. It begins with the aged barrister Horace Rumpole marooned in a nursing home where he feels some shady business is going on. Several of the stories in the collection were adapted as part of a series of 45 minute radio plays starring real life husband and wife duo Timothy West and Prunella Scales. The short stories included in the work are:
Jasmine Hyde is an English actress who has appeared on the stage radio and screen. She is best known for her role as the young Hilda Rumpole in many years of the BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of Rumpole of the Bailey, opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and then later, Julian Rhind-Tutt, including Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders. Most recently she appeared as Anna in The Arcola's production of 'The Cutting Edge' written and directed by Jack Shepherd.
Marilyn Elsie Imrie was a Scottish theatre and radio drama director and producer.
Rumpole of the Bailey is a 1978 collection of short stories by John Mortimer about defence barrister Horace Rumpole. They were adapted from his scripts for the TV series of the same name.
The Trials of Rumpole is a collection of short stories by John Mortimer adapted from scripts for his TV series about Horace Rumpole.
Regina v Rumpole is a 1981 collection of short stories by John Mortimer about defence barrister Horace Rumpole. They were adapted from his scripts for the TV series of the same name. The stories were:
Rumpole and the Golden Thread is a 1983 collection of short stories by John Mortimer about defence barrister Horace Rumpole. They were adapted from his scripts for the TV series of the same name. The stories were:
Rumpole's Last Case is a 1987 collection of short stories by John Mortimer about defence barrister Horace Rumpole. They were adapted from his scripts for the TV series of the same name. The stories were:
Rumpole and the Age of Miracles is a 1988 collection of short stories by John Mortimer about defence barrister Horace Rumpole. They were adapted from his scripts for the TV series of the same name. The stories were:
Rumpole a La Carte is a 1990 collection of short stories by John Mortimer about defence barrister Horace Rumpole. They were adapted from his scripts for the TV series of the same name. The stories were:
Rumpole on Trial is a collection of short stories by John Mortimer about defence barrister Horace Rumpole. They were adapted from his scripts for the TV series of the same name. The stories were:
Rumpole and the Angel of Death is a 1995 collection of short stories by John Mortimer about defence barrister Horace Rumpole. They were adapted from his scripts for the TV series of the same name. The stories were:
Rumpole Rests His Case is a 2002 collection of new short stories by John Mortimer about defence barrister Horace Rumpole. The stories were freshly written and not adapted from any previous scripts he had written for the Rumpole TV series (1978-1992).
Rumpole of the Bailey is a series of books created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer based on the television series Rumpole of the Bailey.