Former Huddersfield detective Bob Bridgestock could be bringing his fictional cop creation to TV.

He and his wife Carol have signed a deal with a film company to produce a TV series of the Jack Dylan books.

The Gate Films have optioned the crime series featuring D.I. Dylan, which began with Deadly Focus, written by the Bridgestocks to develop as a television series.

R C Bridgestock recently appeared at number 8 in the best crime and thriller authors of all time in a W H Smith poll voted by the public.

Former Det Supt Bridgestock, who began his career with Huddersfield Police, spent 30 years working in the police force, taking charge of 26 murder cases and even working on the Yorkshire Ripper case.

His wife Carol also worked for the police in the admin department and between them they have nearly 50 years of police experience, offering an authentic edge to their stories. D.I. Jack Dylan is described as a down-to-earth detective, written with warmth and humour.

Mr Bridgestock said: “This is a fabulous development for us personally and our publishers Caffeine Nights.

“These are very exciting times for the D.I. Dylan series. The opportunity to work with tv producers Sarah, Mervyn and Claire and the team at Gate Films is a giant step on Jack Dylan’s journey and opens up what will be a wonderful series to a larger audience”.

Sarah Jarvis, of Southowram, who is co-founder and senior producer at The Gate, said “We feel privileged to be associated with Bob and Carol and now the option is signed are keen to get underway.

“We have a brilliant team at The Gate who are all chomping at the bit to be involved in the Dylan project.”

Producer Mervyn Watson said, “It’s not often that a sense of authenticity in crime fiction is so strong that you can almost smell it.

“It comes from the decades of experience in the CID that inform Bob and Carol’s books, and that make them the best advisors any police series could wish for.

“I am excited to be part of the development of D.I. Dylan and look forward to seeing it regularly at nine o clock in the future.”

The Gate Films was established 20 years ago by Sarah Jarvis and Simon Lewis. The firm is an award winning multi discipline production facility working across advertising and programming.

The Gate has a 40 strong team spread over offices in Manchester, Edinburgh, London and Cape Town.