Bergerac (TV Series) - Other Characters

Other Characters

Few of the characters were repeated throughout the entire series, but a number appeared in many episodes.

One of the most notable characters is Charlie Hungerford (played by Terence Alexander, well known as having played Monty in the BBC adaptation of The Forsyte Saga), who also happens to be Jim Bergerac's former father-in-law. Charlie is a "lovable rogue" and would-be tycoon, who is often involved in shady dealings, but is paradoxically something of an innocent. Bergerac usually had a good relationship with him (although in the first episode Picking It Up they are not on the best of terms) and in one of the more unbelievable aspects of the series, Charlie was somehow involved in all but one of the 91 cases Bergerac was involved in, Charlie being a good source of gossip when Bergerac had to deal with tax-exiles and people in high places.

Other regular characters in the series included Deborah (Deborah Grant), Bergerac's ex-wife, and his boss, Chief Inspector Barney Crozier (Sean Arnold), previously Inspector, later Superintendent. Bergerac also had several sidekicks, who were generally detective constables. Hardly any crime could have been solved without the help of Crozier's redoubtable secretaries Charlotte (Annette Badland) and Peggy (Nancy Mansfield). Many of today's best known stars can be seen in various episodes of the series.

One of the popular recurring characters was glamorous jewel thief Philippa Vale (Liza Goddard) who went by the nickname of the Ice Maiden. She and Bergerac had an ongoing flirtatious relationship. Many people agree that the best episodes were the ones featuring the Ice Maiden character, because of the onscreen chemistry between Liza Goddard and John Nettles. Philippa Vale appeared in an almost once-a-series basis and a Christmas Special. When Bergerac was not pursuing her, they engaged in friendly bantering.

Series 7 saw the last appearance of Philippa Vale, series 8 the last of Barney Crozier, just as the character Peggy had also vanished around this time (after series 7) and regular off-duty hostess Diamante Lil (Mela White) had made her last appearance in series 5. Following the episode "Root And Branch", Jim's ex-wife Deborah moved from Jersey to England and her number of appearances dwindled. Susan Young, who had become a mainstay of the series from series 4 and onwards, had her last appearance in the first episode of series 8. The last series were thus left somewhat empty of familiar characters, often with only Bergerac himself and Charlie Hungerford remaining.