Season 4 • Episode 13
LatestHadleigh was a British television series made by Yorkshire Television which originally ran from 1969 to 1976. Developed by Robert Barr, it was a sequel to the writer's earlier Gazette for the same company. The theme music was composed by Alan Moorhouse and, from series 3, Tony Hatch. James Hadleigh played by Gerald Harper, was "the perfect squire, paternalistically careful of his tenantry's welfare, beloved in the village, respected in the council." A "knight in a shining white Aston Martin V8, he sets about correcting local injustices." His wife, from a lower-class background, was played by Hilary Dwyer. The series attracted around 17 million viewers at its peak.
Acting
Gerald Harper's effortless aristocratic charm.
Production
That Aston Martin V8 as co-star.
Score
Tony Hatch's later theme upgrade slaps.
Creator
Robert Barr
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Gazette, Hadleigh's predecessor, ended with the protagonist's death—Robert Barr revived the concept by making Hadleigh the son of that deceased editor.
The series embodied 1970s Britain's complicated nostalgia for aristocratic paternalism while the country actually democratized.
GB
