Brian Battison was born in Northampton. Before becoming a writer he was an actor, winning gold medals at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He appeared for many years on stage and television, and throughout his career Brian wrote for pleasure. After his first crime thriller was published, Brian retired from acting so that he could concentrate fully on developing his successful crime series. Brian passed away in 1998, after a short illness, leaving behind his widow, Patricia.
Mark Elstob is an English actor known for his many stage performances, including Present Laughter, Neville’s Island, The Importance of Being Earnest, Sir Peter Hall’s Hamlet and Steven Berkoff’s Salome as well as for his year in Emmerdale as Andrew Fraser. He was chosen for the role of Number Six in Patrick MacGoohan’s The Prisoner after an extensive search by writer/director and producer Nicholas Briggs who describes Elstob as an actor who is brilliant and a powerful leading man.