"Only you can see me Jeff... only you..." - Marty Hopkirk

Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk are best friends and business partners in a small private-investigations office based in London. But while working on a murder case, Marty is killed in a supposed hit-and-run car accident outside his home. Jeff and Marty’s wife, Jean, are both devastated - but Jeff is even more astonished when he is visited by Marty’s ghost! Marty has decided to stay behind on Earth to help Jeff track down his murderer. However, when the case is closed, Marty realises that he has stayed too long, and will not be able to return to his grave for a hundred years.

Although Jeff is a good detective he always seems to have bad luck: money problems, women problems, and constantly being roughed-up by heavies seem to be the order of the day for him. Marty tries his best to help him out, but he is only just beginning to come to terms with being a ghost: he can walk through walls and appear and disappear at will, but cannot physically touch anything and can only been seen and heard by Jeff (although later episodes would see Marty able to move objects by ‘blowing’ them, and making contact with mediums, drunks, and other ghosts). Marty also has a jealous streak when it comes to his widow Jean, and remains devotedly possessive of her. Meanwhile, Jean struggles to deal with the loss of her husband, and has now become Jeff’s partner in the agency.

Described as a gentle mix of drama, suspense, romance and humour, ‘Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)’ was created for ITC by Dennis Spooner, whose interest in the paranormal, together with influences from films such as ‘Blithe Spirit’ and ‘Topper’, gave him the inspiration for the series. Despite only running for just one season of twenty-six episodes, the show was also syndicated across America as ‘My Partner the Ghost’. Thanks to several repeat runs, ‘Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)’ is fondly remembered by its fans, and like so many cult shows from the 1960s and 1970s, its recent re-release on DVD has gained it a whole new generation of viewers.

But that wasn’t the end of the adventures of Randall and Hopkirk. In 2000, it was brought back by the BBC, starring comic duo Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, and written and produced by Charlie Higson, of ‘The Fast Show’. These new stories maintained the spirit (!) of the original series, whilst giving it a new spin by introducing the character of Wyvern, Marty’s ghostly mentor, played by television god Tom Baker. This new series ran for thirteen episodes across two seasons, and its fans are hoping for more adventures to come…


Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - Original Series - Season 1

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - New Series - Season 1
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - New Series - Season 2
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - New Series - Novels

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Legal Bit: The original series of 'Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)' is a registered trademark of Carlton International Media Ltd., and the logo and all images from the original television series are copyright Carlton International Media Ltd. unless otherwise stated; the new series of 'Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)' is a Registered Trademark of BBC Television, and the logo and all images from the original television series are copyright BBC Televison unless otherwise stated; music is copyright the original composers and producers; no copyright infringement is intended. All specially created images and text are copyright © Clive Banks; please do not use these without my permission. All rights reserved. No profit is made from this website, and any revenue made from using the banner-links featured goes straight back into the costs of maintaining it, which comes out of my own pocket in the first place. No profit advertising is accepted. This website was created purely to entertain and amuse, and any references to persons living, dead, comatose, in suspended animation, not born yet, a ghost, or a figment of someone's imagination is purely coincidental. All opinions expressed are my own, so there...

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