According to historical sources, Dick Turpin was born in 1705, at Hempstead in Essex, and was hung at York in 1739, at the age of 33. From all (accurate) accounts, he was a nasty piece of work, with no redeeming features whatsoever. Having got that out of the way, we can progress on to the Turpin of the series, who was a fictionalised version and much nicer - not to mention safer! - to know. Actually, the establishing premise - that another man who had been using Turpin's name had been hung in his place - can be useful in that we can say that it was the other man who was such a rotten piece of work!

We get to know a few bits and pieces about Dick and his past. He was the son of a couple who owned their own farm, which was subsequently taken away from them by Sir John Glutton. Now, I can't see Glutton expending a great deal of energy to get hold of a small cottage, two fields and a cow and some chickens. He tends to target things which will make him a tidy profit, which makes me wonder if Dick's parents might have been moderately wealthy. This could also tie in with Dick's avowed belief that Glutton was also responsible for his parents' death. Swindling a peasant farmer would be considered a minor matter, scarcely to be noticed, but swindling someone with either money or breeding could open a whole new can of worms. With the son and heir out of the country (and hopefully liable to die on the battlefield), killing off the victims was a surefire way of covering Glutton's tracks.

Turpin is obviously educated, which again argues a higher status than working class. He is also quite capable of moving in Polite Society and adopting the manners and behaviour of the upper classes. And the last time I checked, playing the harpsichord/spinneret was not something either a peasant farmer or foot soldier learned to do! He's an expert fencer, which is something which the officer classes were trained in. Foot soldiers tended to opt for the hack 'n slash school of swordplay, when they weren't firing muskets.

He was in the military, though. It was clearly stated in the series that he took part in the campaign in Gibraltar, where he first clashed with Spiker and also Colonel Tobias Moat (one of the most deliciously over-the-top baddies in any series. He was shamefully only ever used the once.). Dick witnessed Spiker's cowardice in battle, which is something Spiker can neither forgive not forget. He would dearly love to see Turpin hang, if only to ensure his silence.

Turpin isn't the knight-in-shining armour kind of hero, though. One of the joys of the series is the way the lead character is often showed as being stubborn, bad-tempered or just plain arrogant, without detracting from the impression that he is a man you could trust. His relationship with Swiftnick is absolutely central to the entire show. Initially irritated by his youthful and enthusiastic apprentice, he gradually starts to thaw out and treat Swiftnick as more of an equal. Not that he turns into Mr Sweetness and Light. Part of Turpin's charm was that you were pretty sure he was swearing under his breath whenever things went wrong for him and Swiftnick. When Swiftnick turns against him, you see a much more vulnerable side to Turpin, and the fact that he forgives Swiftnick so easily later on hints at how important the youth has become to him. 

Nicholas Smith was the son of Mary Smith, owner and landlady of The Black Swan. Right at the beginning of the series, Glutton intends to take the inn away from Mary and toss her and her son out of their home. In desperation, Nicholas takes to the road in an attempt to steal enough money to keep his mother and himself safe from Glutton's clutches. Unfortunately, the person he decides to try and steal from is none other than a heavily disguised Turpin, who tricks Nicholas into leaving himself defenceless and then drags him home to his mother. He probably expects that to be the end of the matter, but he reckons without Mary, who decides that Turpin should take her son on and teach him how to be a proper highwayman.

Turpin's reluctance is matched by Swiftnick's dismay.  Torn between hero-worship and a mulish independence, he and Turpin don't get along very well at the beginning.  Swiftnick is a true innocent who manages to get himself into all kinds of trouble without even trying, but he is also proud enough to want to get himself out of trouble without being beholden to Turpin.  Dick's heavy-handed handling of him doesn't exactly help matters, either. 

For all his youth and brash inexperience, though, Swiftnick was no dumb sidekick.  On the one occasion where Turpin thinks he's finally succeeded in getting rid of his troublesome young apprentice, he promptly gets captured himself and is going to be hung before Swiftnick arrives to rescue him.  While Swiftnick makes mistakes, he never makes the same one twice (except for the small matter of loading pistols!).  Less experienced in the ways of the world, his faith in human nature has a mellowing effect on Turpin, who starts to remember the gentler side of life.  Having said that, however, Swiftnick had an avaricious streak in him when it came to the odd bauble or two!

He is as ardent about seeing Turpin hang as Spiker, for the highwayman costs him money and thwarts many of his schemes.  Unlike Spiker, however, Glutton never loses sight of the big picture and can be persuaded to back off when the price of catching Turpin becomes too high.  Although he has no honour of his own, he can appreciate it in others and has often trusted Turpin to abide by his word when they have been thrown into uneasy alliances for various reasons.  Villain though he may be, Glutton does appear to be fairly kind to his servants and lacks some of the uglier excesses that other aristocrats of the time indulged in.    He is also extremely practical on the subject of revenge, in that he will only indulge in it if it costs him nothing and doesn't get in the way of his main aim of acquiring as much wealth as possible.

We probably know more about Sir John's relatives than any of the others.  He has a brother in Slough, although the relationship doesn't save him when he becomes marked as a Jacobite.  His nephew is Willoughby Cresset, which argues that he might also have a sister who married.  He has another niece, called Sarah, and she in turn has a son and daughter.  Sir John is also blessed with a godmother who is very rich, very deaf, and under the impression that Glutton is married, with son and daughter of his own.

Spiker views Turpin as both his arch-enemy and his nemesis and would do almost anything to see him hang.  Unlike Glutton, Spiker finds it very difficult to let go of his hatred and can rarely see past the immediate chance of capturing Dick.  Even on the rare occasions when he and Turpin are forced to work together, it is a sure bet that Spiker will take the first opportunity to turn on his supposed 'ally'. 

Although he is a bully and a braggart, it is hard to see Spiker as a coward, for he proves his courage in several episodes.  It may very well be that the incident at Gibraltar was the first and only occasion that Spiker's nerve broke, which would be an even greater reason for him to silence Turpin.  By his own lights, he is an honourable man, and he remains loyal to Glutton even when Sir John casts him aside.  While some of that may be self-preservation, there is evidence to suggest that Nathan Spiker has a code of conduct that he adheres to.   He is loyal to Sir John, although he has learned not to trust him, and is contemptuous of his Jacobite leanings. 

We know little of Spiker's origins, although be his account he appears to come from the North of England.  He is not nobly born but aspires to be a gentleman and one of the reasons he remains with Glutton is Sir John's promises to see him elevated to that position.  At one point, Glutton has arranged for Spiker to marry an heiress so he can get an estate of his own.  This plan comes to nothing because of Turpin's intervention - another reason why Spiker has a score to settle with the highwayman.

For all of his bluster, and the fact that his eagerness to capture Turpin can make him act too hastily, Spiker isn't stupid and he has come closer than most to putting an end to Turpin's career.  His tenacity makes him far more dangerous than Glutton, who can either be bought off or distracted.  Catching and putting an end to Turpin has become almost the sole reason for Spiker's existence and because of that he is a dangerously obsessive enemy.

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