The Outsider is a British television drama series produced by Yorkshire Television and screened on the ITV in late 1983.
Plot
Successful journalist Frank Scully (John Duttine) is visiting old friends, the Harpers (Joanna Dunham and Norman Eshley), in the Yorkshire country town of Micklethorpe. Deciding to stay on, he takes the job of editor of the local newspaper, the Messenger. Fiona Neave (Carol Royle), who runs the local print works, becomes Scully's love interest, as he soon becomes embroiled in local affairs.
Background
The Outsider was the brainchild of writer Michael J. Bird, who researched the series by visiting Jim McTaggart, the editor of the Teesdale Mercury newspaper in County Durham. The series was commissioned by David Cunliffe, who had previously worked with Bird on the BBC drama series The Lotus Eaters, at Yorkshire Television for a run of six episodes. The Leeds YTV studio was used for interior scenes, whilst on location, the North Yorkshire town of Knaresborough doubled for the fictional Micklethorpe.
A paperback novelisation by Hugh Miller was published by Granada to tie in with the transmission of the series.
Plans for a second series of The Outsider were abandoned due to the lead actor John Duttine being unavailable, having signed with the BBC to star in the sitcom Lame Ducks.