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The passing of former Detective Inspector Graham Bell QSM, the legendary investigator and long-time Police Ten 7 host, has drawn memories of an iconic moment in New Zealand television.
Bell died in Hospice Waikato on Tuesday 7 October at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer.
“Though many criminals had cause to regret crossing his path, it was after retirement that he had his biggest impact on the country as a whole,” police said in their latest publication of Ten One Magazine.
After his retirement, Bell teamed up with production company Screentime to develop a true-crime series which became Police Ten 7, fronting it from 2002 to 2014.
In a television excerpt from 2009, Bell was presenting an episode of the programme, narrating late night footage of Auckland policeman Guy Baldwin talking to a suspected car thief.
Baldwin asked the man a series of questions about what he had in his pocket. Bell narrated that there was “plenty of evidence to suggest the man has spent the night out stealing.”
The man was carrying a torch and had a CD player in his pocket. He explained to Baldwin his mates had allegedly “ditched” him for a party.
After more lines of enquiry, Bell observes that the man’s excuses “have so far failed to impress police.” And as Baldwin goes to his car to get a notepad, the man comes up with an “unusual response.”
“I was just going up the road to get me a pie or something,” said the Māngere east local.
“You got some money?” Baldwin asks.
“Three dollars.”
“Three dollars, will that buy you a pie?” Baldwin asks.
The man says he’s intending to head to the BP station to get the pie.
“Three o’clock in the morning, you’re buying a pie from the BP station, what must you always do?” Baldwin asks.
“I don’t know,” is the response from the man.
“Three o’clock in the morning, that pie’s been in the warming drawer for probably about 12 hours – it’ll be thermonuclear.
“You must always blow on the pie.” Balwin says.
“I’m hungry,” says the man.
“Always blow on the pie, safer communities together, ok?” Baldwin repeats.
The interaction drew amusement across the country and the globe. The phrase inspired t-shirts, dubstep tracks and memes.
Bell joined Police in September 1968 as a member of the 41 Sam Browne Recruit Wing. He was posted to Auckland and in 1994 moved to Rotorua, where he was OC CIB by the time he retired in December 2001.
Paying tribute to Bell, colleagues recalled his charisma, loyalty and instinct for connecting with people. “He was probably ahead of his time in using the media for serious crime,” said Detective Inspector Lew Warner, while Rob Lemoto, who succeeded Bell as Police Ten 7 host, credited him with “making it cool for people to call police again.”
Police say Bell’s legacy as a champion for victims, an authentic voice for policing, and a bridge between the force and the public remains deeply woven into New Zealand’s crime-fighting story. He is survived by his wife Joyce, their children and grandchildren.
