York author signs TV deal for her crime novels – and hopes it will be filmed here

A York author is celebrating after a TV production company bought the rights to her acclaimed crime novels.

Helen Cadbury’s Yorkshire-set books To Catch A Rabbit and Bones In The Nest have been sold to Red Planet Pictures, the production company behind the hugely popular BBC1 drama Death In Paradise.

Helen’s agent, MBA Literary Agents, made the deal after WH Smith readers voted To Catch A Rabbit one of the books they’d most like to see on screen.

The working title of the series is Chasebridge, the name of the estate where most of the action takes place.

‘Amazing production company’

Helen’s books follow the exploits of young PCSO hero and working-class lad Sean Denton.

Helen is working on the third book in the Sean Denton series. She is looking forward to hearing Red Planet’s plans for her characters, which she’s hoping will include locations in York.

She told YorkMix:

The dream team – Louis and Clooney

The option gives Red Planet 18 months to develop the idea and pitch it to the TV channels.

Helen has already had fun on her blog with fantasy casting of the characters in the novels.

“I’m not sure if he does acting, but I reckon One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson looks and sounds pretty good for Sean,” she wrote.

“And if I had an unlimited budget, I’d have George Clooney as Charlie Moon. My husband wants to see comedian Stewart Lee as Barry Burger King, and I have a number of actress friends queuing up to play Nan.”

Who would you like to see in the roles and filming on York’s streets? Let us know in the comments.

This is the latest in an amazing collection of accolades for Helen’s writing this year. She was chosen as an Amazon Rising Star, for the best debut of January 2015.

WHSmith readers voted To Catch A Rabbit no. 12 in top crime books which they’d like to see on screen.

And in October 2015, the book was selected in the Yorkshire Post’s top 12 books that best define Yorkshire written since the millennium.