Drug war: Policewoman battling Underbelly makers.
A former cop has lost a court case against makers of the Underbelly. Wendy Hatfield claimed the new series – Underbelly: The Golden Mile – will make her out to be corrupt.
The series, which is in production is the second prequel to the Underbelly `which is currently showing on STV.
The original Underbelly charts the story of blood-soaked drugs wars on the streets of Melbourne. It was the most successful TV drama in Australian history and has so far spawned two further series, Underbelly - A Tale of Two Cities which was a prequel to the first series. The third series Underbelly: The Golden Mile covers similar events in Sydney.
Ms Hatfield claims the way she was portrayed in the book from which Underbelly: The Golden Mile was taken was inaccurate.
She says it wrongly claimed she had a sexual relationship with a Sydney nightclub owner called John Ibrahim.
So she went to court to force the programme makers Australian Nine Network to show her the new programme before it is aired.
However, judge Ian Harrison told the Sydney Morning Herald: “Not only is there, in the present case, real room for debate as to whether the statements complained of are defamatory, there is real room for debate as to whether or not there are any statements to complain of at all.
“It does not appear to me at present that the plaintiff may be entitled either to make a claim for damages for defamation against any of the defendants or that she may be entitled to make a claim for interlocutory relief to enjoin them from publication of the series."
