Feeling the format had become exhausted, Hancock decided to end his professional relationship with James at the end of the sixth television series in 1960. Although the two men remained friends, James was upset at his colleague's decision. The experience led to a shift away from the kind of roles for which he had become best known. He remained the lovable rogue but was keen to steer clear of criminal characters - in 1960 he turned down the part of Fagin in the original West End staging of "Oliver!" for that very reason. Galton and Simpson continued to write for both James and Hancock for a while, and the Sidney Balmoral James character resurfaced in the "Citizen James" (1960–1962) series. Sid James was now consistently taking the lead role in his television work. "Taxi!" (1963–64) was his next series. A comedy-drama rather than a sitcom, it was created by Ted Willis, but although it ran to two series, the programme was not particularly successful.