Ranald Ian Mackenzie Graham (3 January 1941 – 29 August 2010) was a Scottish writer, director and producer, best known for his writing work on the British television series The Sweeney, The Professionals and Dempsey and Makepeace.
He possessed an angelic face, wavy golden hair, large blue eyes with long lashes, and an attractive Scottish accent.
His parents eventually returned to Sandakan, but Graham remained in the UK, to be educated at Gordonstoun and later at Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied English and was a keen member of the drama society.
[5] Graham began his writing career in 1966 when his play Aberfan, Or How The Abnormally High Welsh Rainfalls and the Amazingly High Scottish Wind Pressure Brought About A Dislocation of Scottish And Welsh Responsibilities (or more succinctly, Aberfan) was performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In 1974 Graham wrote the screenplay for the horror film Shanks, directed by "Hollywood B-movie veteran" William Castle and starring Marcel Marceau.
The next year Graham co-wrote a television movie, Strange New World and started to make his career in crime dramas, writing for The Sweeney.
In all, he contributed six episodes between 1975–78: "Queen's Pawn", "Cover Story", "Supersnout", "Thou Shalt Not Kill" (all 1975), "Lady Luck" (1976) and "Nightmare" (1978).
"[1] Graham went on to write for The Professionals, contributing five episodes between 1978 and 1982: "Blind Run" and "Fall Girl" (both 1978), "Wild Justice" (1980), "Operation Susie" and "Lawson's Last Stand" (both 1982).
Graham explored the tension between Bodie and Doyle perfectly and then played them off against Jackson's more benign – but equally hard – supremo.
[6] In 1990 Graham produced Yellowthread Street, a big budget police series set and filmed in Hong Kong and made by Yorkshire Television.