Hadleigh TV Series 

James Hadleigh is having a 'friendship' with Freddie Hepton's wife, Anne Hepton, with whom Freddie also has a daughter Charlotte. Anne had left Freddie 3 years previous, and has started a life on her own, with their daughter; as an accountant she can sustain herself. Then Freddie turns up in Westdale, to claim his wife and child.

What are his reasons ? Well, Freddie is the proverbial playboy type, he drinks, smokes, and has affairs with other women. He has now run out of money, and thinks he can woo back his wife and make friends again with his daughter in a bid to get it. After all they are still married, so what can Anne do now ?

Now we can talk about Mike's role here of Freddie. I have to say I thought he was a positively disgusting excuse for a husband and father, but then perhaps this is what we are supposed to think, or is it maybe I see this from a woman's point of view? Mike's portrayal of the playboy is great - maybe a little of how he was at the time? Fast cars, drinking, smoking and living the high life?

Freddie and James come to blows in the local pub, and Hadleigh knocks him out, after Freddie spends the afternoon getting drunk instead of entertaining his daughter.

Hadleigh's affection for Anne is clearly evident in the fact that he will later get cited in the Heptons' divorce; Freddie's bid again in order to obtain money from his wife, unless she agrees to go back to him - then he will drop the petition of adultery, which Anne refuses.

I thought the casting of Gerald Harper (who plays James Hadleigh) perfect for the role even if his acting was a little wooden; we also see Jane Merrow who plays the role of Anne Hepton (she will hopefully be recognised from the 'UFO' episode "The Responsibility Seat.")

However, I particularly enjoyed Mike's scene in the local pub, where he is telling stories, boasting, and causing a disturbance. Mike playing the aggressive drunk was very well done. But I don't think the scripts were very mature, maybe because of the time (late 60s/early 70s television was more sedate) or maybe because of low budget, but it certainly didn't have the quality of the likes of Upstairs Downstairs, Forsyte Saga, or the Onedin Line. What a shame, apart from these small points I would have liked to see more, perhaps I might have formed a more positive point of view, the basis for another campaign to Television companies for re-release of this series ?

I would like to take this opportunity to say that Mike's acting was great. I certainly got the feel for his character, even though it was not very pleasant; but the TV series on its own was not one of the best from that era, and Mike got this role directly after UFO and maybe this was a bit of pattern in character type. But if it had not been for Hadleigh then the producers of The Onedin Line maybe wouldn't have seen what a fine actor Mike was and cast him as Daniel Fogarty, and that would have definitely been a tragedy!