''Wilde Alliance'' is a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series produced by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

for the

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 ...

network in 1978. The programme was a light-hearted mystery series created by

Ian Mackintosh Lieutenant Commander Hamish Ian Mackintosh, (born 26 July 1940; disappeared 7 July 1979) was a British Royal Navy officer, a writer of thriller novels, and a screenwriter for British television. Early life, education and family Born to Annie ( ...

about a husband-and-wife pair of amateur detectives, Rupert and Amy Wilde (played by

John Stride John Edward Stride (11 July 1936 – 20 April 2018) was an English actor best known for his television work in the 1970s. Stride was born in London, the son of Margaret (née Prescott) and Alfred Teneriffe Stride. He attended Alleyn's School, ...

and

Julia Foster Julia Foster (born 2 August 1943) is an English stage, screen, and television actress. Life and career Foster was born in Lewes, Sussex. Her first husband was Lionel Morton, once the lead singer with the 1960s pop band The Four Pennies. She is ...

). Rupert is a crime novelist, while his wife Amy is his PA, as well as being an artist and designer in her own right. They live in a luxurious apartment in an old Manor House in York, but despite this and an enjoyment of the finer things in life, they are sometimes short of money and are often dogged by

Income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

demands. In one episode they even fly on holiday to Amsterdam (in the episode "Affray in Amsterdam") to spend what little profit they have made on one book just to avoid the tax man. They indulge in their amateur detecting more as a sort of diversion from the everyday stress of working life. Also helping out at times was Rupert's long suffering literary agent Christopher Bridgewater (played by

John Lee John Lee may refer to: Academia * John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society * John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal * John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English ...

), who was often having to chase up Rupert to meet a book deadline, only to be unwillingly dragged into yet another of their mysteries. However, in one episode (Things That Go Bump) it is him who asks the Wildes to investigate after buying an old property he believes to be haunted. The only other semi regular in the series is a fellow tenant of the Manor House called Bailey (played by

Patrick Newell Patrick David Newell (27 March 1932 – 22 July 1988) was a British actor, known for his large size. Early life and education The second son of Eric Llewellyn Newell, of High Lodge, Hadleigh, Suffolk, an Oxford-educated physician who served ...

), a dapper dandy of a man who runs a secret business in pornography of all aspects (some less than savory), as well as using his own flat to shoot pornographic films, all under the noses of the local police. The mystery series ran for 13 episodes from January 17 to April 11, 1978, and was a big ratings hit for ITV, consistently making the Top 20, and at one point reached 4th in the ratings with a peak viewing audience of 16.6 million. Despite this, there wasn't a second series, but that may have been down to the sudden and mysterious disappearance of its writer

the following year, who along with his girlfriend Susan Insole and friend and pilot Graham Barber went on a flight over the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska (Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, ...

on July 7, 1979, and disappeared. No sign of any of the passengers or any wreckage of the plane has ever been found.

Cast

*Rupert Wilde -

*Amy Wilde -

*Christopher Bridgewater -

Crew

*Producer -

*Executive Producer -

David Cunliffe David Richard Cunliffe (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand management consultant and former politician who was Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from September 2013 to September 2014. He was Member of Parli ...

*Theme music - Anthony Isaac

Episodes

DVD release

The complete series is available on DVD in the UK.

References

External links

* 1978 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series 1970s British television miniseries ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Television series by Yorkshire Television English-language television shows British detective television series {{UK-tv-prog-stub