'Cowboy' hauliers on TV
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• A controversial BBC drama series about a "cowboy" haulage firm looks hie sparking off a row in the industry, less than a year after the documentary Night Moves was axed by corporation bosses.
Truckers, which begins on 15 September and stars James Hazeldine as an unscrupulous haulage merchant, gives viewers a false picture of the truck industry, claims Freddie Plaskett, director general of the Road Haulage Association: "We hope the BBC makes it clear cowboys are not typical of the industry. We know they exist, but they are not among our members," he says. The FTA say it spends a lot of time telling people that the type of operator portrayed in such series are not representative of the industry: "Obviously one programme can spoil all this hard work and a lot of people will think this is the way the industry carries on, claims the FTA."
In Truckers Hazeldine plays Picard, a ruthless dealer who works his drivers hard, constantly hustling for work others choose to ignore, and taking risks others would turn their backs on, according to the BBC.
Truckers will run for eight episodes and also stars Maynard Williams, Daragh O'Malley and Peter Christian.
Night Moves, the Arena drama-documentary, starring Timothy Spall, was cancelled by BBC chief Michael Grade last year after controversy over how the film was financed. It was eventually shown in April with references to its sponsors, including Commercial Motor, cut from the film and the closing credits.