Alan Clayton

A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.

The first of a trilogy of police procedurals produced in the 1960s by Granada TV, linked by the presence of pompous but increasingly genial police Chief Inspector Charles Rose, The Odd Man initially dealt with the investigations of theatrical-agent-cum-detective Steve Gardiner, and his encounters with the police in the form of Chief Inspector Gordon and DS Swift. By season three, Rose takes Gardiner's place.