''Strangers'' is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Murray Smith, and first broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

on 5 June 1978. The series, featuring the characters of Detective Sergeant George Bulman ( Don Henderson) and his assistant Detective Constable Derek Willis (Dennis Blanch), was a spin-off from the 1976 TV series '' The XYY Man'', adapted from the novels of

Kenneth Royce Kenneth Royce Gandley (1920–1997) was an English thriller writer who also wrote under name Ken Royce, and the pseudonym Oliver Jacks. Early life Royce was born in Croydon, UK in 1920, and began writing at school. He would buy cheap exercise b ...

. The series was first suggested by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

executives, who in 1977, outlined their plan to devise a new series to feature the regular characters of Bulman and Willis.

"... I was sent here to be a stranger in town, a face they didn't recognise ..." - George Bulman

The series began life as a fairly standard police drama, with Bulman positioned as its eccentric lead. The series' premise centred around a group of police officers, including Bulman and Willis, known as 'Unit 23', who are brought together from different parts of the country to Manchester to infiltrate areas and investigate crimes that familiar local detectives could not. Five series were broadcast, with the final episode airing on 20 October 1982. All five series of ''Strangers'' were released on DVD via the Network imprint as a complete box-set on 19 October 2009. Following the series, a further spin-off, simply entitled ''

Bulman ''Bulman'' is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Murray Smith. It was first broadcast on ITV on 5 June 1985. The series, featuring retired ex-cop George Bulman ( Don Henderson) and his assistant Lucy M ...

'', ran for two series on ITV. It follows Bulman, again played by Don Henderson, as he retires from the police and becomes a private detective.

Characters

Initially Unit 23 consisted of Bulman, Willis and WDC Linda Doran ( Frances Tomelty). Local liaison was provided by Detective Sergeant David Singer ( John Ronane), while their superior officer was Detective Chief Inspector Rainbow ( David Hargreaves). In the early years few episodes featured all five of these characters, most using just two or three of the regulars. The second series, shown in early 1979, introduced WDC Vanessa Bennett, played by Fiona Mollison, who replaced Frances Tomelty. David Hargreaves also departed the show following this series. For the third series Bulman, Willis, Bennett and the newly promoted Detective Inspector Singer became members of the Inter City Squad under the command of Detective Chief Superintendent Jack Lambie (

Mark McManus Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor. He has played roles in British television series '' Sam,'' ''Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and ''Dramarama'' and starred in the feature film '' 2000 Weeks''. He was b ...

). The basic premise was similar, but rather than covering just the Northwest of England the squad's remit extended to the whole country. By the fourth series Bulman had also gained promotion to Detective Chief Inspector. This series also reintroduced the semi-regular character William Dugdale ( Thorley Walters), a member of the British

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

and the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

, who became involved when there was a political or intelligence aspect to an investigation.

Production

The first series was shot primarily on videotape, with only location footage being shot on film. The second series featured more use on film: the opening episode, "The Wheeler Dealers", was shot entirely on film and the final episode, "Marriages, Deaths and Births", was shot entirely on film except for the title sequence and a small number of scenes at the police station. From the third series onwards the entire production moved to 16mm film. The first series was scripted by a number of writers, and only

Leslie Duxbury Leslie Montgomery Duxbury (13 June 1926 – 17 October 2005) was a British newspaper sports writer and columnist born in Great Harwood, Lancashire. He turned his attention to television and became a writer for the ITV1 soap opera, ''Coronation S ...

wrote more than one episode. He contributed one further script, for the second series. During series two the series creator, Murray Smith, became the principal writer, and he wrote all but six of the remaining twenty-five episodes.

Cast

* Don Henderson as DS/DCI George Bulman * Dennis Blanch as DC/DS Derek Willis * Frances Tomelty as WDC Linda Doran (Series 1—2) * John Ronane as DS/DI David Singer (Series 1—4) * David Hargreaves as DCI Rainbow (Series 1—2) * Fiona Mollison as WDC Vanessa Bennett (Series 2—5) *

as DCS Jack Lambie (Series 3—5) *

Bruce Bould Bruce Bould (born June 1949 in Bradford, West Yorkshire) is an English actor best known for playing David Harris-Jones in the television sitcom ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' from 1976 to 1979. Career Bould was born in Bradford, West Yo ...

as DI Tom Casey (Series 3) * Thorley Walters as William Dugdale (Series 3—5)

Episodes

Series 1 (1978)

Series 2 (1979)

Series 3 (1980)

Series 4 (1981)

Series 5 (1982)

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0077086, title=Strangers ITV television dramas British thriller television series Television shows based on British novels British television spin-offs 1978 British television series debuts 1982 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series 1980s British drama television series British detective television series Television series by ITV Studios English-language television shows Television shows produced by Granada Television