Strangers (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Strangers was a UK police drama that appeared on ITV
between 1978 and 1982.
After the success of the TV series The XYY Man
, adapted from books by Kenneth Royce
, Granada TV
devised a new series to feature the regular characters of Detective Sergeant George Bulman (Don Henderson
) and his assistant Detective Constable Derek Willis (Dennis Blanch). The result was Strangers.
The series began as a fairly standard police drama series with Bulman as its eccentric lead. Its premise was that a group of police officers have been brought together from different parts of the country to the north of England. There, the fact that they are not known locally gives them the opportunity to infiltrate where a more familiar local detective could not. Initially, the team consisted of Bulman, Willis (promoted to Sergeant) and Linda Doran (Frances Tomelty
). Their local liaison was provided by Detective Sergeant David Singer (John Ronane
); their superior was Chief Inspector Rainbow (David Hargreaves). Despite being based around a comparatively small team of detectives, a regular feature of the programme in its early years was that few episodes featured the entire team, with most using just two or three of the regulars in any major role.
Series two, shown in early 1979, introduced the character of Detective Constable Vanessa Bennett who was played by Fiona Mollison
. The same series would be the last to feature the characters Linda Doran and Chief Inspector Rainbow.
The first series was made primarily on videotape, with location footage shot on film. Series two would feature even more film: with the opening episode The Wheeler Dealers being made entirely on film and the season closer, Marriages, Deaths And Births, being entirely on film bar the standard series title sequence and a few scenes at the police station. From series three onwards, the entire production moved to film.
The first series used a mixture of writers with only one - Leslie Duxbury
- writing more than one episode. He would contribute one further script, for series two, and it was during the second season that Murray Smith came to the fore as the series' main writer. Having penned the programme's first episode, he wrote all but six of the twenty-five episodes that formed series two to five.
In series three, Bulman, Willis, Bennett and the newly promoted Detective Inspector David Singer became members of the Inter City Squad under the command of Detective Chief Superintendent Jack Lambie (played by Mark McManus
). The basic premise was similar, but rather than covering just the north west of England, the team's remit now extended to the whole country.
By series four, Bulman had also gained promotion - to Detective Chief Inspector. The same series also introduced the semi-regular character of William 'Bill' Dugdale (Thorley Walters
) a member of the British Foreign Office
/Secret Service
s who would become involved when there was a political or intelligence aspect to the investigation. His role was not necessarily to help the detectives; that would only happen when was in the government's interest for them to succeed.
The character of Chief Inspector Bulman, still played by Don Henderson, appeared in a subsequent series Bulman
by which point he had retired from the police but was still involved in detective work.
All five series are now available on Region 2 UK DVD (released by Network DVD
).
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
between 1978 and 1982.
After the success of the TV series The XYY Man
The XYY Man
The XYY Man began life as a series of novels by Kenneth Royce, featuring the character of William 'Spider' Scott, a one-time cat-burglar who leaves prison aiming to go straight but finds his talents still to be very much in demand by both the criminal underworld and the British secret service...
, adapted from books by Kenneth Royce
Kenneth Royce
Kenneth Royce Gandley was an English thriller writer who also wrote under name Ken Royce, and the pseudonym Oliver Jacks.Ken Royce was born in Croydon, UK in 1920 and began writing at school...
, Granada TV
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
devised a new series to feature the regular characters of Detective Sergeant George Bulman (Don Henderson
Don Henderson
Don Henderson was an English actor whose film and TV work covered many years but is best remembered for his role as the fictional detective George Bulman...
) and his assistant Detective Constable Derek Willis (Dennis Blanch). The result was Strangers.
The series began as a fairly standard police drama series with Bulman as its eccentric lead. Its premise was that a group of police officers have been brought together from different parts of the country to the north of England. There, the fact that they are not known locally gives them the opportunity to infiltrate where a more familiar local detective could not. Initially, the team consisted of Bulman, Willis (promoted to Sergeant) and Linda Doran (Frances Tomelty
Frances Tomelty
Frances Tomelty is a Northern Irish actress and the first wife of Sting. She is the daughter of Belfast actor Joseph Tomelty ....
). Their local liaison was provided by Detective Sergeant David Singer (John Ronane
John Ronane
John Ronane is a British actor.An Emmy nominee for his role in "War of Children" for CBS, he lost to Lord Olivier that year....
); their superior was Chief Inspector Rainbow (David Hargreaves). Despite being based around a comparatively small team of detectives, a regular feature of the programme in its early years was that few episodes featured the entire team, with most using just two or three of the regulars in any major role.
Series two, shown in early 1979, introduced the character of Detective Constable Vanessa Bennett who was played by Fiona Mollison
Fiona Mollison
Fiona Mollison is a British television and theatre actress.Her father managed a rubber company in British Malaya, and sent Fiona to England to a boarding school...
. The same series would be the last to feature the characters Linda Doran and Chief Inspector Rainbow.
The first series was made primarily on videotape, with location footage shot on film. Series two would feature even more film: with the opening episode The Wheeler Dealers being made entirely on film and the season closer, Marriages, Deaths And Births, being entirely on film bar the standard series title sequence and a few scenes at the police station. From series three onwards, the entire production moved to film.
The first series used a mixture of writers with only one - Leslie Duxbury
Leslie Duxbury
Leslie Duxbury was a British newspaper sports writer and columnist born in Great Harwood, Lancashire. He turned his attention to television and became a prolific writer on the top rated ITV1 soap opera, Coronation Street, finally retiring from the series in 1990....
- writing more than one episode. He would contribute one further script, for series two, and it was during the second season that Murray Smith came to the fore as the series' main writer. Having penned the programme's first episode, he wrote all but six of the twenty-five episodes that formed series two to five.
In series three, Bulman, Willis, Bennett and the newly promoted Detective Inspector David Singer became members of the Inter City Squad under the command of Detective Chief Superintendent Jack Lambie (played by Mark McManus
Mark McManus
Mark McManus was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart in the long-running ITV television series Taggart for eleven years until his death.-Career:...
). The basic premise was similar, but rather than covering just the north west of England, the team's remit now extended to the whole country.
By series four, Bulman had also gained promotion - to Detective Chief Inspector. The same series also introduced the semi-regular character of William 'Bill' Dugdale (Thorley Walters
Thorley Walters
Thorley Walters was an English character actor.He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO...
) a member of the British Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
/Secret Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
s who would become involved when there was a political or intelligence aspect to the investigation. His role was not necessarily to help the detectives; that would only happen when was in the government's interest for them to succeed.
The character of Chief Inspector Bulman, still played by Don Henderson, appeared in a subsequent series Bulman
Bulman
Bulman was a Granada TV series which ran from 1985-1987 and followed the fortunes of the major character from the earlier XYY Man and Strangers series....
by which point he had retired from the police but was still involved in detective work.
All five series are now available on Region 2 UK DVD (released by Network DVD
Network DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
).