Rumpole of the Bailey (radio series)
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. Five different actors portrayed Horace Rumpole in these episodes: Leo McKern, Maurice Denham, Timothy West, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Julian Rhind-Tutt.
Casts
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 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, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. In the latter two mini-seasons 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.
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.
Episodes
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.
''Rumpole: The Splendours and Miseries of an Old Bailey Hack'' (1980)
A single series of 13 episodes. Broadcast July–October 1980- "Rumpole and the Confession of Guilt"
- "Rumpole and the Dear Departed"
- "Rumpole and the Gentle Art of Blackmail"
- "Rumpole and the Rotten Apple"
- "Rumpole and the Man of God"
- "Rumpole and the Defence of Guthrie Featherstone"
- "Rumpole and the Show Folk"
- "Rumpole and the Fascist Beast"
- "Rumpole and the Case of Identity"
- "Rumpole and the Expert Witness "
- "Rumpole and the Course of True Love"
- "Rumpole and the Perils of the Sea"
- "Rumpole and the Age of Retirement"
- * Six of the thirteen episodes were brand-new, specially-written stories – created by Mortimer exclusively for the 1980 BBC Radio series. Those six stories were never adapted for television.
- * Six of the thirteen episodes were new special radio adaptations by Mortimer of all six stories featured in TV Series Two
- * One of the thirteen episodes was a new special radio adaptation by Mortimer of the original one-off TV play that he wrote for BBC TV's Play For Today in 1975 – that inspired the subsequent TV series.
- **
''Rumpole of the Bailey'' (2003–present)
2003 mini-season
- "Rumpole and the Primrose Path"
- "Rumpole and the Scales of Justice"
- "Rumpole and the Vanishing Juror"
- "Rumpole Redeemed"
- *The mini-season consisted of four radio plays each of 45 minutes duration. All four stories were adapted from a book published in 2002 of six brand-new Rumpole short stories by John Mortimer – titled "Rumpole and the Primrose Path"
2006 mini-season
- "Rumpole's Return"
- "Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf"
- "Rumpole and the Right to Privacy"
- * The mini-season consisted of two radio plays both of 45 minutes duration. One story was another adaptation from Mortimer’s 2002 book – "Rumpole and the Primrose Path”. The other story was adapted from a book of seven new Rumpole short stories by Mortimer published in 2001 – “Rumpole Rests His Case"
2007 mini-season
- "Rumpole and the Reign of Terror"
- Truth Makes All Things Plain
- The Past Catches up with Us All
- * The mini-season was adapted from a new Rumpole novel by John Mortimer published in 2006 – titled “Rumpole and the Reign of Terror". The adaptation was presented as a radio play in two halves – each of 45 minutes.
2008 mini-season
- "The Antisocial Behaviour of Horace Rumpole"
- Rumpole on Trial
- Going for Silk
- * The mini-season was adapted from a new Rumpole novel by John Mortimer published in 2007 – titled "The Antisocial Behaviour of Horace Rumpole”. The adaptation was presented as a radio play in two halves – each of 45 minutes.
2009 mini-season
- "Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders"
- Old Unhappy Far-Off Things
- Alone and Without a Leader
- * The mini-season was adapted from a Rumpole novel by John Mortimer published in 2004 – titled "Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders" The adaptation was presented as a radio play in two halves – each of 45 minutes.
2010 mini-season
- "Rumpole and the Family Pride"
- "Rumpole and the Eternal Triangle"
- * The mini-season consisted of two new adaptations of Rumpole stories that were originally presented in 1992 in Season Seven of the “Rumpole of the Bailey” TV series. The stories were also published in short story form in the 1992 companion book of that series – titled “Rumpole on Trial"
2012 mini-season
- "Rumpole and the Man of God"
- "Rumpole and the Explosive Evidence"
- "Rumpole and the Gentle Art of Blackmail"
- "Rumpole and the Expert Witness"
- * The mini-season consisted of four episodes. Two of the episodes were new adaptations of stories that were originally written by John Mortimer especially for the BBC’s 1980 Rumpole radio series. One episode was a new adaptation of a Rumpole story that was originally presented in 1979 in Season Two of the “Rumpole of the Bailey” TV series. The fourth episode was a new adaptation of a classic Rumpole story.
2014 mini-season
- "Rumpole and the Old Boy Net"
- "Rumpole and the Sleeping Partners"
- * The mini-season consisted of two episodes. One of the episodes was a new adaptation of a Rumpole story that was originally presented in 1983 in Season Three of the “Rumpole of the Bailey” TV series. The other episode was a new adaptation of a classic Rumpole story
2015 mini-season
- "Rumpole and the Portia of our Chambers"
- "Rumpole and the Age of Miracles"
- "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation"
- "Rumpole and the Tap End"
- * The mini-season consisted of four new adaptations of Rumpole stories that were originally presented in 1988 in Season Five of the “Rumpole of the Bailey” TV series. The stories were also published in short story form in the 1988 companion book of that series – titled “Rumpole and the Age of Miracles”
2016 mini-season
- "Rumpole On Trial"
- "Rumpole And Hilda"
- "Rumpole and Memories of Christmas Past"
- "Rumpole and The New Year's Resolutions"
- * Julian Rhind-Tutt replaces Benedict Cumberbatch as young Rumpole while Jasmine Hyde returns as young Hilda.
2017 mini-season
- "Rumpole and the Way Through the Woods"
- "Rumpole for the Prosecution"
- "Rumpole and the Quacks"
2018 mini-season
- "Rumpole and the Golden Thread"
- "Rumpole and the Official Secret"
- "Rumpole and the Quality of Life"
- * Currently running new series of Rumpole stories.
Occasional Christmas Radio Specials
- 1996: "Rumpole and the Widow Twankey"
- * This was a new adaptation of a classic Rumpole story and is a reading. not a dramatization.
- 1997: "The Spirit of Christmas"
- * This was a new adaptation of a story that was originally written by John Mortimer especially for the BBC’s 1980 Rumpole radio series.
- 2001: "Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces"
- * This was an adaptation of a story by John Mortimer – published in his 2002 book of short stories titled “Rumpole Rests His Case”