Jeff Randall

Jeffrey "Jeff" Randall is a fictional character played by Mike Pratt in the original private detective series, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) from 1969 to 1971 and by Bob Mortimer in the BBC remake. He is the only man in the world (with the exception of the occasional psychic) who can see and hear the ghost of his deceased partner Marty Hopkirk.

The role was written for ATV contract artist Dave Allen but it ended up being played by Mike Pratt. Randall is a successful private detective whose success in solving mysteries becomes inevitably greater once he has the benefits and paranormal abilities of his deceased friend and partner Marty Hopkirk, who was murdered during an investigation. Randall is quick and agile, but often shows a distinct lack of physical strength and stamina. Randall is known to have a fiery temper and can become particularly irritated with certain situations and people, particularly the ghost of Marty, who torments him as much as helps him. He smokes regularly and is a heavy drinker under stressful situations.

Jeff at times can be a highly ambiguous character. In certain episodes he can show morals and respect for other characters, but at other times he can appear as immoral and verging on criminal in his behaviour. In the fifth episode "That's How Murder Snowballs" for example, rather than reporting to the police after the murder of a theatre performer, Randall rings a newspaper immediately to ensure that his tip off saw him a substantial amount of money for leaking the story.

Randall, described as "slightly seedy",is also a womanizer and he attracts many beautiful women from episode to episode. However, any love interest fizzles out very quickly.

From 2000 to 2001 Randall was played by Bob Mortimer in the remake of the series. By contrast to the original series, Randall on this occasion is a far more moral individual, refusing to become involved with Jeannie after Marty's death despite being significantly tempted, and displaying little real interest in other women even when they make their attraction clear. He shows a greater understanding of other people than the original, but lacks his hand-to-hand combat skills, with most of the physical side of their cases being handled by Jeannie.

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