Kenneth Royce

Kenneth Royce Gandley (11 December 1920 — 15 August 1997) was an English author, who published 36 thriller novels between 1959 and 1997 under his own name (including The Third Arm, The Stalin Account, Fall-Out, 10,000 Days and Channel Assault), and three as Oliver Jacks. His best-known work are his novels featuring semi-reformed cat burglar William 'Spider' Scott, an XYY man, whose extra 'Y' chromosome (in the then-erroneous-but-conventional wisdom) gave him a pre-disposition towards criminality. After attempting to 'go straight', he finds his talents are in demand not only from the criminal underworld, but also the secret service, and he is co-opted into dangerous undercover work (usually through blackmail, the temptations of money, or through his interest being piqued). A television series of The XYY Man in 1976-77 (adapting the early books) created a popular appetite for the character, and also that of his nemesis, Detective Sergeant George Bulman, a relatively minor character in the original books, but brought to life on the screen by the memorable performance of Don Henderson. After the run of Spider Scott programmes, DS Bulman had further television adventures not based on Royce's work (the series Strangers, 1978–82, and Bulman, 1985-87). The popularity of these probably contributed to Royce choosing to make Scott and Bulman unlikely allies and joint leads from The Crypto Man through No Way Back, while he wrote more Bulman novels towards the end of his life, including The Judas Trail (1996) and Shadows (1996). Royce was married and lived in Buckinghamshire, UK. He died in 1997.

Works

Strangers

Strangers is a 1978–82 ITV police procedural created and principally written by Murray Smith, based on characters created by Kenneth Royce in his novel series and subsequent 1977–78 television adaptation The XYY Man. Don Henderson and Dennis Blanch reprise their roles, respectively, of Detective Sergeant (DS) George Bulman and Detective Constable (DC) Derek Willis. A group of police officers are brought together from across the country to the north of England. There, the fact that they're not well-known gives them the advantage to infiltrate where a more familiar local detective could not. Despite being based around a comparatively small team of detectives, a regular feature in its early years is that few episodes feature the entire team, with most using just two or three regulars in any major role.

Release Date1978-06-05

DepartmentWriting

JobCharacters

Episode Count32

Vote Count3

Bulman

Bulman is a 1985–87 police procedural created and principally written by Murray Smith. Produced by Granada Television for ITV, it is the second and final spin-off from The XYY Man (1976–78), and following Strangers (1978–82). Don Henderson reprises his iconic role as former DCI George Bulman, ostensibly retired from and repairing old clocks but active as a private investigator, with Lucy McGinty as his assistant. The duo are frequently drawn into the clandestine world of the secret service through the machinations of security chief Bill Dugdale or Bulman's former superior Jack Lambie.

Release Date1985-06-05

DepartmentWriting

JobCharacters

Episode Count20

Vote Count3

The XYY Man

The XYY Man is a 1976–77 British crime thriller television series created by Kenneth Royce, based on his novel series about reformed cat burglar William 'Spider' Scott, recruited by British intelligence for secret missions due to his unique genetic makeup (an extra Y chromosome), which supposedly predisposes him to crime. The plot follows his reluctant work for the secret service and his constant pursuit by the dogged Detective Sergeant George Bulman, leading to spin-offs like Strangers and Bulman.

Release Date1976-07-03

DepartmentWriting

JobNovel

Episode Count13

Vote Count3