FANS of Julia Chapman's Dales Detective series are in for a treat after a leading production company secured the television rights.

The Austwick-based writer says she is 'over the moon' that the books, which have already been made into a primetime hit in France, will now also be made for a British audience by the company behind The Madame Blanc Mysteries.

Full of heart, humour and crime, the Dales Detective series follows former Met Police detective and black sheep Samson O'Brien as he returns to his hometown of Bruncliffe - a thinly disguised Settle - to set up a detective agency.

Once there he joins forces with Delilah Metcalfe, owner of the Dales Dating Agency, to solve a series of crimes, ably supported by the wonderfully unique and eccentric cast of characters who live in Bruncliffe and Delilah’s Weimaraner, Tolpuddle.

Saffron Cherry Productions will be making the television series and have secured Stewart Harcourt, creator, writer and producer of Agatha Raisin, Poirot, and Maigret, for the adaptation.

Julia said: “The passion which Caroline, Sally and the team at Saffron Cherry have brought to this project so far has been amazing and I’m over the moon that Stewart Harcourt is on board for the screenplay. I know Samson, Delilah and the good folk of Bruncliffe have found the best of all possible homes.”

Described by the publisher Pan Macmillan as a 'combination of beguiling charm and witty ingenuity' the first seven titles in the series have sold in excess of 200,000 copies throughout the world and have been translated into French, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Estonian.

The eighth novel, Date with Evil, is due to be published next month and if early reviews are anything to go by, is set to keep its author at the top one per cent of the borrowed list in libraries.

Last year the series was also made into a ratings winner, primetime television show in France, where the books regularly hit the bestseller charts.

The Dales Detective series will be developed by Saffron Cherry’s Caroline Roberts-Cherry and head of scripted Jane Langford (Hollyoaks, Metastasis, Jordskott S2, Origin).

Creative Director, actress and writer Sally Lindsay, who will also serve as executive producer, said: “We are thrilled that Julia has trusted us with her novels and are excited by the adaptation of A Date with Death that Stuart Harcourt has delivered.”

Caroline Roberts-Cherry, managing director, added: “We are incredibly excited to be developing The Dales Detective for television. Following the huge success of The Madame Blanc Mysteries, we feel incredibly well placed to hit all the right notes with this much-loved book series, and create a long running show loved by fans new and old.”

To date, Saffron Cherry has created and produced The Madame Blanc Mysteries for Channel 5 and Acorn TV (a co-production with Clapperboard), the double award winning The World According to Grandpa for Channel 5’s Milkshake! and The Wonton Warrior, for CBBC which received three international nominations for The Rockies, Kidscreen Awards and Content Innovation Awards.

What fans of the books will now be pondering is who will play the parts of Samson and Delilah.