A MAJOR new TV series based in Manchester is to be made by the company behind Bad Girls and Footballers' Wives. The BBC hope Waterloo Road, due on screen next year, will develop into a long-running hit with viewers after an initial six episodes.

It will be made by Shed Productions, which was set up by former Coronation Street producer Brian Park along with ex-Street writer Maureen Chadwick, Weatherfield story editor Ann McManus and Granada executive Eileen Gallagher.

Details of the new series are still under wraps, but BBC Drama head of commissioning Jane Tranter says Waterloo Road is just one part of her plans for the city. "I've made no secret of the fact that it is our ambition to get a drama in Manchester that is on our screens 52 weeks a year. Not a soap, but something that regular.

"And I would like that to be joined by a minumum of three, four or five other really high profile drama series, made in Manchester, that will come back year after year after year."

Speaking at a showcase for North West film and TV, held in London's Manchester Square, Jane estimated it could take five years to develop an all-year-round drama from Manchester.

"I'm certain it's not going to happen overnight and it shouldn't happen overnight because we'll make all the wrong decisions. We'll kiss an awful lot of toads until we find our prince."

The BBC already has a commitment to make 50 per cent of its drama output outside of London. "And a really big chunk of that will come from the north west," added Jane.

Building on the success of Manchester productions like Cutting It, Blackpool and the yet-to-be-seen Life On Mars, starring John Simm, another three new series should be up and running in the city over the next 12 months.

"The writing talent there is fantastic and we believe there are a lot of new voices coming through in the north that we have yet to hear from."

Adaptation

There are also plans for a big BBC classic adaptation, following on from Casanova and North and South, adapted from Knutsford-raised Elizabeth Gaskell's 1855 novel set in Manchester.

Over 1,800 staff posts and five BBC departments are set to move to Manchester by 2010, although the proposals have yet to be finally approved. BBC governors are due to give the go-ahead in September, assuming the required funding is in place.

It was just one of the topics under discussion at the showcase - organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and North West Vision - aimed at encouraging more TV and film-makers to the region.

TV production in Manchester is booming. Dramas from the city due on screen this autumn include Vincent, starring Ray Winstone and Suranne Jones, Cold Blood, with John Hannah, Jemma Redgrave and Matthew Kelly, and more I'm With Stupid, starring Mark Benton.

Red Productions boss Nicola Shindler was one of several voices highlighting the attractions of Manchester and the rest of the region.

She said: "When I started working, I worked on Cracker at Granada. I loved the energy of the city and immediately bonded with a lot of the writers who work from here." Looking to the future, she added: "I'm hoping to make a script set in Iraq. But we're thinking about filming on the Southport beaches for financial reasons."

Granada Director of Drama, Kids and Arts John Whiston told the London audience that shooting scenes for new series Eleventh Hour, starring Patrick Stewart, included a lesson in economics.

"We got two days at Manchester Airport for é500, airside, with free parking. We did a huge two-day shoot at the end of Life Begins at Stansted Airport, which cost us é13,000 per day and parking was extra."

Henry Normal, co-founder with Steve Coogan of Baby Cow, has recently opened a branch in the city. "We're in Manchester because Steve and I started our careers there."

Speaking from Manchester, Blue Murder star Caroline Quentin said: "There seems to be a real drive here at the moment to produce new and interesting stuff. Up here, I feel that I'm coming home to family."

Having secured the deal to buy Phil Redmond's Mersey TV at 6am that day, North West Vision chairman Steve Morrison, who is also chief executive of All3Media, commented: "I've never seen so many people gathered in London to discuss coming to the north west.

"You've got great people, great attitudes, great cities, great countryside, very bold creative ideas and a warmth and willingness to work with people that you don't get so quickly in other parts of the country."