On to 'Warship' Back to 'General Hospital'
Michael J Bird's Contribution to
The Expert
The series featured on the cover of Radio Times
BBC
62 (50 minute) episodes
1968 - 1971/76

Devised by - Gerard Glaister and N J Crisp
Producers - Gerard Glaister / Andrew Osborn
Screencap of the title Screencap of the title

This police forensic series from BBC2 was set in the West Midlands and Warwickshire area. Marius Goring played Dr John Hardy, a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. It was also the first BBC2 drama series to be made in colour.

The Expert also starred Ann Morrish as Hardy's wife and Victor Winding as Inspector Fleming.

Interviewed in Radio Times in September 1976, Goring said "The success of the series is that it is not fictionalised. It's not a cops and robbers thriller, not a whodunit.
Each episode is based on an actual case, the scientific facts are all researched."

For more on the series see the BFI's excellent Screenonline archive



Michael Bird's episode credit 22nd October 1976

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Writer: Michael J.Bird.
Director: Peter Graham Scott

Guest Cast:
George Ballantine (Beachcomber), Elizabeth Spriggs (Mrs Kyneston), Edmund Pegge (Police Inspector), Richard Bartlett (Cashier), Jeremy Clyde (Martin Jessell), Terence Longdon (Patrick Hawkes), Ray Marioni (Croupier), Virginia Stride (Susan Bartlett), Marc Zuber (Mark Bowden), Philip Madoc (Det. Chief Insp. Lewis), Murray Hayne (Gerald Kyneston) Opens a blank mail message to enable you to e-mail for details

An elaborate plan goes wrong because of a woman's intuition.

Download a copy of the script READ THE SCRIPT

It seems unlikely we will get the chance to see The Expert again on our screens but thanks to Olive Bird I have been able to copy Michael's script for "A Family Affair" (complete with many of his manuscript alterations) and it can be viewed here as a PDF* file.

*Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Acrobat Reader is free software that lets you view and print Adobe PDF files.

Download Acrobat Reader?
Michael J Bird Tribute Website

This page was last modified: