James Hadleigh (Gerald Harper) was the vain, humourless country squire with an over-developed sense of his own importance who owned stately Melford Park – and who had previously been seen as the proprietor of a country newspaper in the Yorkshire Television series Gazette.
The mansion and the problems posed by the cost of its upkeep provided the main storylines – with Hadleigh occasionally obliged to freelance for his old employer, the Treasury – though interludes for romance were frequent.
Hadleigh’s pulling power was greatly enhanced by his white Monteverdi 375L sports car, and his thoroughbred horse The Drummer.
Towards the end of the series, Hadleigh married the lower class but fortuitously rich Jennifer Caldwell (Hilary Dwyer).
Other cast members included Joyce Carey, Judy Campbell, Roland Culver and Mary Peach.
The series – watched by 17 million people at its peak – was created by Robert Barr and produced for Yorkshire Television by Jacky Stoller and Terence Williams
James Hadleigh
Gerald Harper Jennifer Caldwell Hilary Dwyer
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The mansion and the problems posed by the cost of its upkeep provided the main storylines – with Hadleigh occasionally obliged to freelance for his old employer, the Treasury – though interludes for romance were frequent.
