Mr. Palfrey of Westminster

Mr. Palfrey of Westminster is a British television drama produced by Thames Television for ITV.

It started with "The Traitor", a television play aired as part of Thames Television's Storyboard anthology series in 1983, featuring Alec McCowen as Palfrey.

This was followed by two weekly series in 1984 and 1985, in the 9-10pm timeslot, again with Alec McCowen as Palfrey, and introducing Clive Wood as his assistant Blair.

This was followed by another Storyboard television play, "A Question of Commitment", in 1989, featuring Clive Wood as Blair.

Plot summary

Mr Palfrey is a mild, middle-aged man—the epitome of a middle-ranking British civil servant. He works in counter-intelligence—identifying and neutralizing foreign spies, traitors, and double agents operating within the UK.

Cast

Regular cast and characters

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

Guest cast

Notable guest actors included Tim Pigott-Smith, Michael Sheard, Julian Glover, Frederick Treves, Denis Lill, Ronald Hines, Deborah Grant, Martin Jarvis, James Faulkner, Jan Chappell, David Calder, Leslie Phillips, John Shrapnel, Maurice Denham, Gary Waldhorn, Donald Burton, Charles Kay and Carolyn Pickles.

Episode list

Series overview

Storyboard pilot (1983)

Series 1 (1984)

Series 2 (1985)

Storyboard postscript (1989)

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. on 16 August 2010.

Notes

External links