Bliss (1953–69), in which he played an amiable but bumbling bachelor, David Alexander Bliss, (initially played by David Tomlinson); it lasted for six series and 118 episodes. It became a TV series in 1960, running for two series, but no recordings of the TV episodes are known to survive. The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1963) is a three-part serial which formed part of the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color TV series. It was shot on location in England and stars Patrick McGoohan as Doctor Syn, with Cole as Mipps. In 1964, Cole guest-starred as 'Bishop', an increasingly deranged arsonist, in the episode "Firebug" in the ITV series Gideon's Way. In 1968, he starred as Max Osborne in the TV series A Man of Our Times. Cole appeared as a guest star in the Gerry Anderson-produced television series UFO in the episode "Flight Path" (1971), and he appeared as a storyteller on the BBC children's programme Jackanory, narrating in six episodes between 1969 and 1971. He also made a guest appearance as Mr Downs, a bank manager, in a 1978 episode of the sitcom The Good Life, performed in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. His best-remembered television role was as the crafty wheeler-dealer Arthur Daley in the popular and successful Thames Television series Minder, which he played from 1979 to the show's conclusion in 1994. Prior to this, he had played a struggling writer in the BBC sitcom Don't Forget To Write! (1977–79). Although he is most associated with the character of Arthur Daley, it was one which produced mixed emotions in him, describing variously his support for the character as well as citing in his autobiography how much he loathed the type of person Daley was. Cole also played Sir Giles Lynchwood in the BBC's adaptation of the Tom Sharpe novel Blott on the Landscape (1985). Cole starred in a number of comedies, such as The Bounder (1982–83), Comrade Dad (1984–86), Dad (1997–99) and My Good Friend (1995–96). Cole appeared in a New Tricks (BBC), series 4 Episode 5 "Powerhouse" (2007) and the Midsomer Murders episode "Shot at Dawn" (2008). Personal life Cole was married twice, first to actress Eileen Moore (b.1932) from 1954 until 1962 (when they divorced), and then to actress Penny Morrell (1967–2015, his death). Cole had four children, two from each marriage. His son from his first marriage, Cris Cole, is a screenwriter for