''The XYY Man'' began as a series of novels by

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 ...

, featuring the character of William (or Willie) '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. Scott has an extra Y chromosome that supposedly gives him a criminal predisposition – although he tries to go straight, he is genetically incapable of doing so. Royce's original books were: ''The XYY Man'' (1970); ''Concrete Boot'' (1971); ''The Miniatures Frame'' (1972); ''Spider Underground (The Masterpiece Affair)'' (1973) and ''Trap Spider'' (1974), though he returned to the character in the 80s with ''The Crypto Man'' (1984) and ''The Mosley Receipt'' (1985). Regular characters included Scott's long-suffering girlfriend Maggie Parsons; British secret service head codenamed Fairfax (the character's real name is Sir Stuart Halliman. In one episode, Fairfax identifies himself as 'Stuart' in a telephone conversation); Detective Sergeant George Bulman, the tenacious policeman who wants to see Scott back behind bars; journalist Ray Lynch; gay photographer Bluey Palmer; and KGB chief Kransouski.

''The XYY Man'' — The TV Series

In 1976 the first of Royce's novels was adapted for British television by Ivor Marshall. The series ran for three episodes, which covered the one storyline with Stephen Yardley starring as the main character. Co-starring were

Mark Dignam Cuthbert Mark Dignam (20 March 1909 – 29 September 1989) was a prolific English actor. Born in London, the son of a salesman in the steel industry, Dignam grew up in Sheffield, and was educated at the Jesuit College, where he appeared in num ...

as shadowy civil-servant and

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Go ...

officer Fairfax,

Don Henderson Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997)Ancestry/Find My Past (his birth was registered in the December 1931 quarter) was an English actor. He was known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remem ...

as his nemesis DS George Bulman, and Dennis Blanch as Bulman's assistant, DC Derek Willis. The series, produced 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 ...

, was successful enough for a second series of ten episodes, containing original stories written for television, to follow in 1977. Both series were released as a complete box set via the Network imprint on 26 February 2007. Although the television adaptation openly depicts a person with

XYY syndrome XYY syndrome, also known as Jacobs syndrome, is an aneuploid genetic condition in which a male has an extra Y chromosome. There are usually few symptoms. These may include being taller than average, acne, and an increased risk of learning disa ...

as having criminal tendencies, it was highlighted following the series' broadcast that in real life, there is no connection. An early academic paper studying the conditional probability fallacy resulted in the myth becoming

conventional wisdom The conventional wisdom or received opinion is the body of ideas or explanations generally accepted by the public and/or by experts in a field. In religion, this is known as orthodoxy. Etymology The term is often credited to the economist John K ...

in the 1970s, but subsequent research has not found any evidence for it. The subject was also touched on in an episode of ''

Doomwatch ''Doomwatch'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist ( ...

'', "By the Pricking of My Thumbs...", written by

Robin Chapman Robin John Chapman (18 January 1933 – 29 July 2020) was an English novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Early life Chapman was born in Croydon, Surrey. He was educated at Selhurst Grammar School (later Selhurst High School) and Christ' ...

. When the series came to an end, the characters of Bulman and Willis were considered popular enough to merit their own spin-off series, ''

Strangers A stranger is a person who is unknown to another person or group. Because of this unknown status, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, character can be ascertained. Differ ...

'', which followed in 1978. Five series of ''Strangers'' were broadcast, before a second and final spin-off series, ''

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 Mc ...

'', followed in 1985. The popularity of the character of Bulman resulted in Kenneth Royce writing three further novels featuring the character: ''No Way Back (Hashimi's Revenge)'' in 1986, and later ''The Judas Trail'' (1996) and ''Shadows'' (1996).

Cast

* Stephen Yardley as William 'Spider' Scott *

as DS George Bulman * Dennis Blanch as DC Derek Willis * Vivienne McKee as Maggie Parsons *

as Fairfax (Series 1 & Series 2, Episodes 4—8) * Oliver Maguire as Don Stevens (Series 2, Episodes 1—5 & 9) *

Johnny Shannon Johnny Shannon (born 29 July 1932) is an English actor who appeared in numerous television and film productions over a 40-year period, often playing policemen or crooks in crime dramas. Shannon's most memorable roles include the crime lord Harry ...

as Warren (Series 1, Episode 1 & Series 2, Episodes 1—4) *

Brian Croucher Brian Croucher (born 23 January 1942) is an English actor and director best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the soap opera '' EastEnders''. Croucher also had a regular role in the science fiction series ' ...

as Raisen (Series 2, Episodes 1—4) * Fiona Curzon as Penny (Series 2, Episodes 1—4) *

William Squire William Squire (29 April 1917 – 3 May 1989) was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television. Squire was born in Neath, Glamorgan, the son of William Squire and his wife Martha (née Bridgeman). Career As a stage actor, Squire performed at S ...

as Laidlaw (Series 2, Episodes 1—4)

Episodes

Series 1 (1976)

Series 2 (1977)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:XYY Man, The 1976 British television series debuts 1977 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series 1970s British crime television series ITV television dramas British thriller television series Television shows based on British novels English-language television shows Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Granada Television