Cockney Philip Marlowe is back

Humfrey Hunter11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Terry Venables, newly-appointed manager of Leeds United, is to relaunch his career as a TV writer.

The day after his career as a football manager was resurrected, it has emerged that the former England coach is to revive his detective Hazell for a new series.

Actor Ray Winstone is tipped to take the title role as the "Cockney Philip Marlowe", who was created in the Seventies while Venables was still playing for Chelsea.

The books, co-written by Gordon Williams, were turned into two television series starring Nicholas Ball and Jane Asher. They became a cult hit on cable channels.

Hazell was known for sharp oneliners such as: "I've got a wad of cash 'ere that could choke a washing machine."

Winstone said: "I like Venables's writing. These days there aren't many people who write good dialogue."

Venables, 59, is known to have a keen eye for a business opportunity. He once invented a hit board game called The Manager and even promoted the Thingummywig, a hairnet-cum-wig for women wearing curlers.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in