The Odd Man was an offbeat Sixties thriller from Edward Boyd which featured East London actor Edwin Richfield as Steve Gardiner, a theatrical agent and part-time detective investigating strange cases.
Also featured were Detective Sergeant Swift, Chief Inspector Gordon, Gardiner’s wife and her mysterious mute killer South. During the third season of this Hitchcockian-like series, Inspector Rose entered the narrative, to be eventually spun off to the more conventional detective show It’s Dark Outside (1964-1965) which featured a young Oliver Reed in it’s cast and had a theme tune from Jackie Trent called Where Are You Now? that went to number one on the charts.
There was another spin-off too with 1968’s Mr Rose.
production details
UK / ITV – Granada / 16×60 minute episodes / 1962-63 black and white
Creator: Edward Boyd / Theme music: Derek Hilton / Producer: Stuart Latham
cast
Geoffrey Toone as Steve Gardiner
Jan Holden as Judy Gardiner (season 1)
Lisa Gastoni as Dorothy Berridge (season 1)
Judith Furse as Miss Croy (season 1)
Jemma Hyde as Vicky (season 1)
Alan Tilvern as Detective Sergeant MacBride (season 1)
Moultrie Kelsall as Chief Inspector Gordon (season 2)
Keith Barron as Detective Sergeant Swift (seasons 2-3)
Sarah Lawson as Judy Gardiner (season 2)
Christopher Guinee as South
William Mervyn as Chief Inspector Rose (season 3)
Anna Cropper as Ruth Jenkins (season 3)
Sarah Lawson as Anne Braithwaite (season 3)
