Mr. Palfrey of Westminster

*Mr. Palfrey of Westminster*
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster
Genre	Spy drama
Directed by	Gerald Blake
Starring	Alec McCowen; Clive Wood; Caroline Blakiston; Briony McRoberts
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	10
Production
Running time	50 minutes
Production company	Thames Television
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	18 April 1984 –; 11 June 1985

Mr Palfrey of Westminster is a British television drama produced by Thames Television for ITV which ran between 18 April 1984 and 11 June 1985.

Plot summary

Mr Palfrey is a mild, middle-aged man—the epitome of a middle-ranking British civil servant. He is also a spy.^{[citation needed]}

Two series in total were made, in addition to the pilot. The pilot, "The Traitor", by George Markstein, aired as part of Thames Television's Storyboard anthology on 23 August 1983. Series 1 consisted of four one-hour episodes, and first aired on Wednesday evenings from 9.00 to 10.00pm, 18 April to 9 May 1984.^[2] Series 2 consisted of six one-hour episodes and aired on Tuesdays, again from 9.00 to 10.00pm, 7 May to 11 June 1985. A subsequent play featuring Blair, "A Question of Commitment", by Philip Broadley, was first transmitted in the Storyboard anthology on 23 May 1989.

Regular cast and characters

Alec McCowen as Mr Palfrey, the lead character, a Whitehall-based spycatcher
Briony McRoberts as Caroline, Mr Palfrey's secretary
Clive Wood as Blair, Mr Palfrey's more action-orientated assistant
Caroline Blakiston as Co-Ordinator, head of espionage activities for the British Government

Episode list

Series 1 (1984)

Episode number	Title	Written by	Directed by	Original airdate
1	"Once Your Card Is Marked"	George Markstein	Christopher Hodson	18 April 1984 (1984-04-18)
2	"The Honeypot and the Bees"	Michael Chapman	Peter Cregeen	25 April 1984 (1984-04-25)
3	"The Defector"	Philip Broadley	Christopher Hodson	1 May 1984 (1984-05-01)
4	"A Present from Leipzig"	Anthony Skene	Peter Cregeen	8 May 1984 (1984-05-08)

Series 2 (1985)

Episode number	Title	Written by	Directed by	Original airdate
5	"Freedom from Longing"	Philip Broadley	Christopher Hodson	7 May 1985 (1985-05-07)
6	"Return to Sender"	Philip Broadley	Gerald Blake	14 May 1985 (1985-05-14)
7	"Music of a Dead Prophet"	Michael Chapman	John Davies	21 May 1985 (1985-05-21)
8	"Official Secret"	George Markstein	Christopher Hodson	28 May 1985 (1985-05-28)
9	"Spygame"	Barry Appleton	Gerald Blake	4 June 1985 (1985-06-04)
10	"The Baited Trap"	Philip Broadley	John Davies	11 June 1985 (1985-06-11)

DVD release

The complete series, including the pilot episode ("The Traitor") and the 'postscript' play transmitted in 1989 and featuring Clive Wood as Blair, was released on a 3-DVD set by Network Distributing Ltd.^[3] on 16 August 2010.^[4]

Notes

^ Jerry Roberts (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-8108-6138-1.
^ Television listings for all ITV regions, The Times (18 and 25 April 2 and 9 May 1984). Richard Down and Christopher Parry, The British Drama Research Guide: 1950–1997 (Bristol: Kaleidoscope Publishing, 1997), ISBN 1-900203-04-9, p. DM-11, indicate that Central TV transmitted the last two episodes one day earlier, on Tuesdays, 1 and 8 May 1984. These are the dates also given on the container of the Network 7953332 DVD set. Dave Rogers, The ITV Encyclopedia of Adventure (London: Boxtree Ltd, 1988), ISBN 1-85283-205-3 (cloth) ISBN 1-85283-217-7 (pbk), p. 336, also gives the date of episode 4 as Tuesday 8 May 1984, without specifying the ITV region(s). The Times, on the contrary, lists on Tuesday 1 May 1984, 9.10–10.10pm, and on Tuesday 8 May 1984, 9.00–10.00 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ("The Dancing Men" and "The Naval Treaty", respectively) on all ITV regions, and these dates for the Sherlock Holmes episodes are confirmed for Central TV in Down and Perry 1997, p. DA-4.
^ Mr. Palfrey of Westminster: The Complete Series – Network Distributing Limited, Ref. 7953332, Barcode 5027626333249]
^ RadioTimes DVDs

External links

Mr Palfrey of Westminster at IMDb

[1] Jerry Roberts (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-8108-6138-1.

[2] Television listings for all ITV regions, The Times (18 and 25 April 2 and 9 May 1984). Richard Down and Christopher Parry, The British Drama Research Guide: 1950–1997 (Bristol: Kaleidoscope Publishing, 1997), ISBN 1-900203-04-9, p. DM-11, indicate that Central TV transmitted the last two episodes one day earlier, on Tuesdays, 1 and 8 May 1984. These are the dates also given on the container of the Network 7953332 DVD set. Dave Rogers, The ITV Encyclopedia of Adventure (London: Boxtree Ltd, 1988), ISBN 1-85283-205-3 (cloth) ISBN 1-85283-217-7 (pbk), p. 336, also gives the date of episode 4 as Tuesday 8 May 1984, without specifying the ITV region(s). The Times, on the contrary, lists on Tuesday 1 May 1984, 9.10–10.10pm, and on Tuesday 8 May 1984, 9.00–10.00 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ("The Dancing Men" and "The Naval Treaty", respectively) on all ITV regions, and these dates for the Sherlock Holmes episodes are confirmed for Central TV in Down and Perry 1997, p. DA-4.

[3] Mr. Palfrey of Westminster: The Complete Series – Network Distributing Limited, Ref. 7953332, Barcode 5027626333249]

[4] RadioTimes DVDs

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]