Bazalgette joined the BBC News graduate news training scheme, and was subsequently picked by Esther Rantzen as a researcher on "That's Life!" from 1977. While a reporter at the BBC for "Man Alive", he joined Eric Parsloe's video production company Epic. The BBC put him in charge of producing the programme "Food and Drink," where he claims to have created the celebrity chef. He continued producing by forming his own production company Bazal, which created hits for British TV including "Ready Steady Cook", "Changing Rooms" and "Ground Force." In 1990, Bazal was acquired by Broadcast Communications, which itself was absorbed by Endemol.