''Strangers'' is a British television

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

series, principally written and created by Murray Smith, and first broadcast on ITV on 5 June 1978. The series, featuring the characters of Detective Sergeant George Bulman (

Don Henderson Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997) was an English actor. He was known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remembered for his portrayal of detective George Bulman between 1976 and 1987 in ...

) and his assistant Detective Constable Derek Willis (

Dennis Blanch Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

), was a spin-off from the 1976 TV series ''

The XYY Man ''The XYY Man'' is a series which began in 1970 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. Adapted for television, ''The XYY Man'' ...

'', adapted from the novels of

Kenneth Royce Kenneth Royce Gandley (1920–1997) was an English author. Gandley 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 book ...

. The series was first suggested by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), 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 on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

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 Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

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 Mc ...

'', 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 Frances Tomelty (born 6 October 1948) is a Northern Irish actress whose numerous television credits include ''Strangers'' (1978–1979), '' Testament of Youth'' (1979), ''Inspector Morse'' (1988), '' Cracker'' (1993), '' The Amazing Mrs Pritchar ...

). 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 Fiona Mollison (born 9 January 1954) 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. She attended Bush Davies School of Theatre Arts to learn ...

, 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 known for his roles in the British television series '' Sam,'' '' Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and '' Dramarama'' and the feature film '' 2000 Weeks''. He was best know ...

). 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 Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English actor. He played comedy roles in films including '' Carlton-Browne of the F.O.'' (1959) and ''Two-Way Stretch'' (1960). Early life Walters was born in Teigngrace, Devon, th ...

), 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 * United ...

and the

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

, 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 John 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 Street ...

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

as DS/DCI George Bulman *

as DC/DS Derek Willis *

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) *

as WDC Vanessa Bennett (Series 2—5) *

as DCS Jack Lambie (Series 3—5) * Bruce Bould as DI Tom Casey (Series 3) *

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 1978 British television series debuts 1982 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series 1980s British drama television series British detective television series British television spinoffs British thriller television series British English-language television shows ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Television shows based on British novels Television shows produced by Granada Television