his boss and one of his henchmen. This, combined with the fact that Budgie's mother has recently died, his father not wanting him, his girlfriend becoming pregnant by Budgie, and that he wants to leave Hazel for a stripper he has recently slept with who then tells him that she is moving abroad, makes Budgie even more depressed and eventually makes him head off into a new life. This is where the series ended. Cast The title role, a chirpy cockney petty criminal newly out of prison, was played by pop singer Adam Faith; it was his first starring role for television. The character's name was Ronald 'Budgie' Bird, nicknamed after the budgerigar birds sometimes kept as pets in England. The series co-starred Iain Cuthbertson as Charles (Charlie) Endell, a suave and Machiavellian Glaswegian gangster based in London, who employed Budgie, often against his own better judgement, or when he was in need of an unsuspecting fall guy. June Lewis played his silent wife Mrs Endell. During the late 1970s, Scottish Television produced a short-lived spin-off series, Charles Endell Esquire. The only other regular member of the cast was Lynn Dalby as Budgie's girlfriend, Hazel Fletcher. Stella Tanner had a semi-regular role as her mother, Mrs Fletcher. Rio Fanning appeared three times as Budgie's gullible criminal Irish pal, Grogan. Guest stars included Georgina Hale as Budgie's wife Jean, George Tovey as his father, Jack Bird, and Adrienne Posta as a stripper. John Rhys-Davies had an early semi-regular role as a corpulent gangster working for Endell, with the name of Laughing Spam Fritter. Budgie's dad Jack Bird is played by George Tovey and his mum Alice by Julia McCarthy. His sister Violet (Vi) is played by Anne Carrol. Vi's fiancée/husband Tony Pringle is played by Donald Douglas. The neighbour Mrs L. is Barbara New. Charlie Endell's mousey wife is played by June Lewis. Series two broadened the characters to include Endell's secretary, Mrs Beecham (Nan Munro) and Budgie's wife (Georgina Hale). Avril Elgar played Mrs Silverstone, a rich woman being fleeced by a fake religious movement led by "Soapy Simon" (Gordon Jackson). Derek Jacobi played Hazel's cousin Herbert in one episode where Budgie introduces him to the sordid side of London's Soho district. Kenneth Cranham was the main support as Inky Ballantine in the episode "24000 Ballpoint Pens", with Alfie Bass in the same episode as the ironically named fence, Dickie