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A classic BBC drama series depicting the true-life cases and personal demons of Sir Edward Marshall Hall, Edwardian London s most celebrated barrister. Presiding over trials that made news headlines and drew large crowds to the public gallery, Old Bailey defence counsel Sir Edward Marshall Hall was Britain s first legal celebrity. A champion of justice for all, Marshall Hall (Jonathan Hyde) earns a reputation as The Great Defender as he pleads the innocence of clients other lawyers refuse to represent. He champions a lowly German prostitute accused of murdering a client, dissects an ugly libel battle about homosexuality within an aristocratic family, and defends the accused in the infamous Camden Town Murder. With every case Marshall Hall seizes the high ground and boosts his standing. But when a maid is accused of killing her illegitimate baby, it brings back dark memories of the barrister s unhappy first marriage... First broadcast on BBC Two in 1989, co-stars include David Rintoul, David Bradley, Peter Capaldi and Caroline Quentin. Michael Feast and Leslee Udwin also star as Marshall Hall s clerk Edgar Bowker and second wife Henriette.
Jonathan Hyde