The football agent and TV personality Eric Hall has been moved to a specialist hospital in an attempt to bring the lively character back to health after he contracted E.Coli poisoning and septicaemia.

Mr Hall, who represents stars including Chelsea captain Dennis Wise, started as a showbiz agent, but became famous for his trademark cigar and "Monster" catchphrase after moving into the world of sport.

He was moved from a private London Clinic to a specialist hospital after doctors had spent three days treating him.

Mr Hall's solicitor said: "The family would like to thank Eric's friends, members of the public and the media who have expressed concern over his illness."

He did not know whether the E.Coli bug affecting Mr Hall was the same strain as that involved in recent food-poisoning outbreaks in Scotland.

Eric Hall has always been a larger-than-life figure in the entertainment and sports world.

After giving up acting school at 15, he broke into the music business by working as a tea-boy alongside a young Elton John and went on to sing backing vocals with eccentric 1960s star Tiny Tim.

He later promoted records for stars like Frank Sinatra, the Bay City Rollers and Clive Dunn - of Dads' Army fame - and claims to have launched the careers of Queen and Cockney Rebel.

When the Sex Pistols sparked fury with their infamous four-letter outburst at TV presenter Bill Grundy, Hall was the agent who booked them onto the programme.

Earlier this year he released his first CD, a single called Monster Cash, which sends up the backroom wheeling and dealing of the soccer world.

He moved into football in 1986, after a chance meeting with Spurs star Steve Perryman when in a nightclub with friend Terry Venables, and his name has never been far from controversy ever since.

Hall has been accused by some of feeding off today's cash-rich football world by encouraging players to seek transfers for the sake of the commissions to be earned and by others of helping turn the national game into a branch of showbiz.

But he has always insisted that he is simply helping players like Tim Sherwood, John Scales, Paul Walsh, Dean Holdsworth and Neil Ruddock earn their just rewards from their talents by negotiating favourable contracts and transfer deals.

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©