UK-based Studio Crook has acquired the rights to develop “Damaged Goods”, the first book in Helen Black’s “Lilly Valentine” legal series, into a 6 x 60′ television drama series called “Valentine”.
“Valentine will follow Lilly Valentine, a near-divorced single mother on the wrong side of 40, who excels at her job at a local Oldham law firm. She will do anything to help her clients, even at the expense of her son and near ex-husband.
Black, a former solicitor, became known for her popular crime novels based on her own experiences before turning to screenwriting, including co-writing the second series of Jimmy McGovern’s prison drama ‘Time’, currently airing on BBC One.
Studio Crook received investment from Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund earlier this year. The Lilly Valentine series was published by Harper Collins and sold in several languages around the world. The deal was brokered by Black’s agent Frances Arnold at Rochelle Stevens.
Black said: “Lilly Valentine was the first character I ever created and readers couldn’t get enough of her bravery and flaws in equal measure. She’s a working class scrapper, a lawyer who won’t give up on her clients, and I love seeing characters like Lilly on TV; seemingly ordinary, yet great women who have so much going on and are still the funniest people you’ll ever meet. Having worked with Studio Crook’s head of scripted, Justine Potter, on my first commission, I know Lilly is in good hands.
Matt Crook, managing director of Studio Crook, added: “Lily Valentine is a force of nature and from the first page of ‘Damaged Goods’ we knew we had to bring her to the screen. It’s a pleasure to be working with Helen Black on the adaptation of her work, the show is just brilliantly entertaining, heartbreaking and universally relatable, which is exactly the kind of story we want to tell.
