LONDON (AP) — A retired British television producer was convicted Thursday of trying to hire hit men to kill his partner, after a jury rejected his claim that he was merely conducting research for a thriller.

Prosecutors said David Harris offered three men large sums of money to kill his partner, Hazel Allinson, a former scriptwriter. Both worked on long-running TV police series "The Bill."

They told jurors at London's Central Criminal Court that Harris, 68, wanted to kill Allinson, inherit her fortune and move in with his girlfriend, a former professional basketball player from Lithuania in h...