Main Chance, The

1 9 6 9 – 1 9 7 5 (UK)
45 x 50 minute episodes

John Stride played David Main, an ambitious, dynamic, tough and highly capable young solicitor, in this superb legal drama series from Yorkshire Television.

Having gained valuable experience over several years in London, David returned to his native Leeds to establish a new practice.

Driven by a thirst for success, he sought out the most lucrative cases but was also a man with a conscience who often acted for the most vulnerable and underprivileged.

While his occasionally impetuous approach could take him into difficult legal waters – to the distaste of his more reserved and cautious Leeds partner Henry Castleton (John Wentworth) – Main’s acumen and resourcefulness rarely failed him.

As Main’s fortunes peaked and troughed, the most visible casualty of his ambitions was his personal life. By the beginning of the second series, he had divorced his wife, Julia (Kate O’Mara), to whom he initially gave full custody of their children when she remarried.

Over the years, he also had long drawn-out relationships with his sexy, highly efficient and long-suffering secretaries: first Sarah Courtenay (Anna Palk), who eventually married to become Lady Radchester, and later the more exotic Inge Lindstrom (Sharon Maughan), who finally returned to Norway after realising that Main could only really love the Law.

His eventual remarriage ended tragically, with his wife’s death at the hands of a drunk driver. Main’s unorthodox attempts to bring to trial those responsible led eventually to his being struck off the solicitor’s register.

At the conclusion of the final episode, Main was back in the provinces at the bottom rung of the legal ladder, alone and facing an uncertain future.

Created by Edmund Ward, The Main Chance was produced by David Cunliffe and John Frankau and ran for four series between 1969 and 1975.

Initially made in black and white, as the series’ popularity grew and it transferred to colour, some episodes even included overseas filming.

David Main
John Stride
Henry Castleton
John Wentworth
Margaret Castleton
Margaret Ashcroft
Sarah Courtenay
Anna Palk
Sidney Bulmer
John Arnatt
Julia Main
Kate O’Mara
Inge Lindstrom
Sharon Maughan
Hilary Nash/Main
Estelle Kohler
Walter Clegg
Glynn Edwards

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