Disbarred barrister Alex Lambert (Ian Hendry) used his connections with the underworld to pass information onto the police -for a price!

This tense, pithy thriller lasted for two seasons and followed Lambert as he trod the precarious path between both sides of the law whilst keeping his wife (Heather Sears) ignorant of his true profession, posing instead as a business consultant. This wasn't the only secret he kept from her -as he was also having an affair with the girlfriend (Jean Marsh) of an unsuccessfully defended client, (whose case led to his disbarment). His one contact with the police was through DS Piper (Neil Hallett). Tony Selby also starred.

The series was created by John Whitney and Geoffrey Bellman and produced by Stella Richman (series 1) and Peter Collinson (series 2). Directors included Michael Lindsay-Hogg and a young Ridley Scott.

The Ian Hendry tribute website http://ianhendry.com , managed by the actor's nephew Neil, is well worth a visit.

And the script editor on The Informer was Alfred Shaugnessy. Shaugnessy would use Bird two years later on Hadleigh, and was the man behind Upstairs Downstairs. Bird contributed a storyline to Upstairs Downstairs, which I believe was the only story-line ever bought in for the series - all the rest coming from Shaughnessy himself.