Brendan P. Healy

In the 1830's in northern England, Riah Millican, a widow with three children, take a job as housekeeper to a reclusive former teacher, Percival Miller. Miller makes Riah the gift of a black velvet gown, and even educates her children. But when Riah discovers the reason behind Miller's gifts, she vows to leave his house... (imdb)

Spender was one of the more remarkable TV detectives of the 1990s. The series featured a large amount of back story for the main characters with many episodes dealing with Spender's domestic life, his family and circumstances. Some of the storylines were surprisingly dark; one episode featured the death of Spender's wife at the hands of a ruthless gangster, another on the kidnap of one of his daughters. (en.wikipedia.org)