Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

“I’ve never been so proud in my life:” New BBC drama The Cry turns writer into one of hottest properties in TV

The TV adaptation of Helen Fitzgerald's The Cry comes to BBC 1 this Autumn. (Lachlan Moore).
The TV adaptation of Helen Fitzgerald's The Cry comes to BBC 1 this Autumn. (Lachlan Moore).

IT is the drama the BBC hope will keep us glued to the sofa when the Bodyguard finally loosens its grip.

The Cry, starring Jenna Coleman, is heartrending tale of a couple involved in a custody battle whose baby is snatched when they fly to Australia.

It has turned writer Helen FitzGerald into one of the hottest properties in TV with seven production companies fighting to bring her next book to screen. And it’s an amazing transformation for the Australian-born, Glasgow-based author.

“I’ve lived in Scotland for 27 years now but I initially came to the UK after I finished university with £50 in my pocket,” said Helen, 52.

“I fell in love with a Scots Italian, Sergio, got married and made this my home.

“This is my eighth book and two of the others have been optioned for the screen but nothing happened, so this is third time lucky.”

The Cry mirrors major elements of Helen’s life. And the four-part adaptation of the bestselling book, which was filmed in Glasgow and Australia, could hardly have more of a personal connection.

“Sergio and I made a deal that we would go back to Australia every year, which was a nightmare,” said Helen, whose two children, Anna, 21, and Joe, 18, are both now at university.

“When you see Jenna’s character Joanna sitting on the plane in the first episode, it just feels like I’m there. The flights helped me come up with the plot for the book, but they were awful. I remember breastfeeding going wrong with my baby once. I was too stressed, it wasn’t working and Anna cried the whole time.

“It’s that feeling that you are failing as a mother that came to my mind. And I’ve had really good friends go through custody battles like in the book.”

Shooting for The Cry took place in Glasgow in late spring and the Australian filming was also uncannily familiar for Helen.

Rather than have somewhere stand-in for her book locations, the production used her locations Down Under.

“Queenscliff in Victoria is where we went every year when we made those flights,” said Helen.

“They could have filmed in South Africa but I thought that where I had set it would be perfect.

“It was incredible seeing on screen where we went with the kids. My mum was there when they were filming.”

Helen has worked in social work while writing over the years, and that will be the backdrop for the new book that TV companies are fighting over. But the financial boost from The Cry has allowed Helen to give up the social work and devote more time to writing projects.

She will be talking about The Cry on Friday at the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival in Stirling, which runs until next Sunday.

And Helen, who will be joined by one of the drama’s cast, actress Sophie Kennedy Clark, says she’s still coming to grips with the success and attention.

“I’ve been hyperventilating a lot with the excitement. It’s all been a bit overwhelming.

“When I saw the first two episodes I’ve never been so proud in my life.

“I knew it was my best book yet. I felt there were no holes in it and while I didn’t think I wrote twists there are a lot in this, so hopefully people will get hooked.”

The Cry starts on BBC1 at the end of the month.