Hazell

Hazell was one of a clutch of London-based drama series of high quality which ITV produced in the 1970s, with others from this era including Minder, Budgie and Out. Minder aside, I was too young to watch these series when they were originally broadcast, however I've really enjoyed catching them on DVD. Hazell was an interesting take on the private eye genre, with the 'tec as a Cockney ex-cop with a classic car and a nice line in dialogue.

Nicholas Ball is convincing in the title role, and I'm a little surprised he didn't become a bigger name on TV post-Hazell. I didn't know the writers thought he was too young for the part, and I'm astounded they considered John Bindon for the role. Bindon could play a tough nut, which of course is what he was in real life, but as Dennis Waterman said in his autobiography, Bindon wasn't what you would call an actor.

As well as sharp dialogue, Hazell benefited from a very capable supporting cast, which included Roddy McMillan as the teetotal Scots CID officer Choc Minty, Desmond McNamara as cousin Tel, and James Faulkner as Gordon Gregory, the posh lawyer with some very dubious clients. With regard to a remake of Hazell, I did hear a rumour a while back about Ray Winstone taking the lead role (I feel Jimmy Hazell would be a better part for him than Vincent), and I'm disappointed it hasn't happened.

However, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that the useless lot in charge of drama at ITV think Hazell is 'dated and sexist'. James Hazell was hardly someone who treated women badly, and Barbara Young played a strong (but not butch) lesbian character in the series, so go figure, as the Americans say. Nowadays, Network Centre (dubbed by one national TV critic Notwork Centre) is content to churn out endless series by Lynda La Plante and unimaginative guff by Kay Mellor, therefore how they can dismiss worthwhile ideas so freely is beyond me.

A measure of ITV's current hold on reality - phone quiz cons aside - is that they think Caroline Quentin is star material. Dearie me. Back to Hazell, and it's a great shame there's been no similar series on our screens for many years. Television drama series aimed primarily at men have been extremely thin on the ground for a very long time, and with TV advertisers said to be desperate to reach younger men, you'd think the answer was obvious. Even to the right-on dullards running drama at ITV.

Run-down 1970s Britain proved to be a fertile backdrop for truly memorable light drama such as Budgie, The Sweeney, & Minder, and i reckon Hazell was just about as good.

James Hazell is an ex copper who left the force under a cloud, and is now working as an enquiry agent; he's a cockney charmer with an eye for the ladies, and no case is too hard as long as the money's right. His work takes him around some of the seediest, and in some cases, swankiest parts of London, and as with The Sweeney, the location work and cockney banter are a big part of the attraction of this great show.

Nicholas Ball was initially considered too young for the role, but i'm really glad he eventually got it because he absolutely nailed the part and made it his own. I particularly enjoyed the first series, which featured some great banter with one of the show's best characters Dot Wilmington. Other regulars were his cousin Tel, and his nemesis 'Choc' Minty.

Hazell ran for only two series, and in a way i'm glad, as too many good shows outstay their welcome and grow tired and flabby.

On a final note, it's sad to think that ITV, the channel that gave us Callan, Public Eye and all the aforementioned classics is now best known for making mindless drek like Love Island and Keith Lemon.

In an era of reality TV and Netflix it's probably strange that I can be bothered to write a review? The show was created a long time ago but it's utterly brilliant. Kids would scoff at the fashions and everything else but this show portrays London and all its filthy dead end locations and weaves it into a fascinating PI detective show. Nicholas Ball was wonderful and it's a shame he didn't get a massive break from this. Raw, gritty and a little bit strange at times it represents London in the 70s In all of its glory with fascinating characters and story lines. Watch for nostalgia but definitely watch.

i have recently acquired all episodes of this series on DVD and am thoroughly enjoying them all over again. if it is true that Nicholas ball wanted it to be shot on film otherwise he would quit then it is a real shame, but i can see his point. the series suffers only through being on tape, everything else is spot on. some of the stories are, indeed, a bit clichéd but the performances and scripts are excellent right the way through two series. i was thinking about if a revival was to occur who could do it .... four names came into my head:

Craig Fairbrass (tough) Leslie Grantham (edgy) Nigel Harmon (sexy) and Nicholas Ball (venables/williams thought him too young at the time .. well, he's a lot older now and still looking good)

.... i think a 21st century update would be great. To not consider it because it is sexist is ridiculous, a good screenwriter could turn the novels into superb TV, much better than the likes of 'vincent' or 'murder city'.

gives this series a look, it is great!!!!

'Hazell' was the creation of Gordon Williams and Terry Venables ( yes, that Terry Venables! ). A sort of Cockney version of 'Philip Marlowe', James Hazell looked cool driving around '70's London in his Triumph Stag. His main adversary was Detective-Inspector 'Choc' Minty, a hard-faced Scotsman who acted as a kind of 'Teal' to Hazell's 'Saint'. With its brassy opening theme and Bond-style titles, 'Hazell' blasted onto I.T.V. with the force of a howitzer. The plots ran the gamut of '70's crime show clichés ( missing children, drug smuggling, bank raids ), with Hazell often on the receiving end of a good hiding from some underworld felon. What lifted it above the average were the witty scripts and Nicholas Ball's laconic performance in the title role. At the time, he was married to 'Not The Nine O'Clock News' star Pamela Stephenson. 'Hazell' made him a star, but alas the fame it brought him was fleeting. Allegedly the series ended after only two seasons because Ball issued an ultimatum - do it on film or else. The prospect of 'Hazell' becoming a Euston Films Production was certainly intriguing, but alas it wasn't to be. Williams and Venables later confessed that they thought him too young for the role anyway, their preferred choices were John Bindon and Michael Elphick. I.T.V. briefly considered reviving the series a few years ago, but decided against it on the grounds that it was 'dated and sexist'. Haven't times changed!