Literary agent murdered at Tabard Centre

Rod Hall

Officers were called to an apartment in the Tabard Centre, Prioress Street, at 9pm on Sunday by a friend of the dead man. He had gone to the address following concern that the deceased had failed to keep appointments that day.

He was found in an upstairs room. He had been stabbed and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The dead man has been identified as 53-year-old literary agent Rod Hall. A post mortem examination at Westminster Mortuary showed the cause of death to be multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen.

The investigation is being led by the Met's Specialist Crimes Directorate under DCI Colin Dell. He said Mr Hall was last spoken to on Friday 21 May at about 7pm when he was believed to be in the area of Borough tube station in Borough High Street. From there he would either have walked or taken a bus to his home in Prioress Street.

DCI Dell said police were keeping an open mind about the motive for the murder.

"I am appealing for anyone who may have seen him around that time; we do not know if he was alone or with another person. I also want to hear from anyone who saw or spoke to Mr Hall at any point that weekend, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, 21, 22 or 23 May. I need to build up a complete picture of his activities and would be glad to hear from anyone who can provide any information."

Mr Hall is described as a white man of 53, about 6ft tall and of very thin build. He wore distinctive spectacles with a thick clear plastic frame. It is not known what he was wearing but he would have been carrying a large, brown leather bag.

He lived alone. He was not married and had no children.

Anyone who has any information should call the incident room at Lewisham on 020 8721 4905, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to remain anonymous.

The Rod Hall Agency is a specialist literary agency that represents writers for film, television and theatre.

Well-known clients of the Rod Hall Agency include Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly), Liz Lochhead and Dario Fo.

The agency also represents Richard Smith, screenwriter of Trauma, the forthcoming Colin Firth movie shot in Lower Marsh and elsewhere in SE1.

Other screenwriting clients include Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty), Lee Hall (Billy Elliott) and Jeremy Brock (Mrs Brown).

Rod Hall grew up in rural Sussex where Vivien Leigh was his next door neighbour. In 1978 he created the UK's first film & television tie-in department at Penguin Books, beginning with Waterhsip Down. In 1984 he established the Film, Television & Theatre Department at AP Watt, where he set up projects including Jeeves & Wooster, Just William, Dalziel & Pascoe, Casualty, Babe, The Full Monty and Mrs Brown.

In 1997, Rod left AP Watt with his colleague Clare Barker to create the Rod Hall Agency Limited.

Charlotte Mann, co-director of the agency, said in a statement: "Rod was a wonderful, amazing man; a dear, loving and loyal friend, and one of the most respected literary agents in the country. He was an inspiration to me in every way. I am devastated and will miss him terribly as, I know, will his clients."