Former policewoman sues over 'Underbelly'

Jessica Tovey, who plays Wendy Jones in Underbelly. Photo / Getty Images

SYDNEY - One Australian not enjoying the latest series of Underbelly on television is Wendy Hatfield, who believes a police officer shown having a torrid affair with a notorious Sydney nightclub boss is based on her.

Hatfield, who was at Kings Cross police station, in Sydney's red-light district, in 1994, has launched a defamation suit against the Nine Network over an episode entitled Women in Uniform.

Screened last month, it portrays a young constable, Wendy Jones, in a liaison with John Ibrahim, known as "King of the Cross".

In one scene, Jones - played by Jessica Tovey - tells Ibrahim she "must be insane" to be with him. She says: "Admit it, sexy Johnny, you're a drug dealer." He replies: "I hate that shit."

During the Wood royal commission into police corruption in Sydney in the mid-1990s, Hatfield, who is no longer in the force, denied any sexual relationship with Ibrahim. However, she admitted accompanying him on a dive boat trip off the New South Wales coast.

Hatfield, married and living in Victoria, went to court in March seeking an order obliging Nine to allow her to view the programme and determine if she had grounds to prevent it going to air.

The judge refused, saying there was "real room for debate as to whether the statements complained of are defamatory [and] real room for debate as to whether or not there are any statements to complain of at all".

In papers now lodged with the NSW Supreme Court, the former constable claims her reputation has been "gravely injured" by the high-rating show, because the offending episode implied she was guilty of misconduct by having a liaison with Ibrahim while believing him to be a criminal.

Hatfield, who is also suing the production company, Screentime, says she "has suffered hurt and embarrassment and will continue to suffer loss and damage".

In Underbelly, Jones is seen having sex with Ibrahim while in police uniform at his nightclub, Tunnel. Later she attempts to break things off, telling him: "It was wrong and I should never have started it."

The royal commission, which exposed endemic corruption in the police force, heard that Ibrahim and Hatfield had a two-month affair. Ibrahim admitted to an "intimate" relationship with the constable, but refused to say whether it was sexual.

The Nine Network and Screentime deny defaming Hatfield.