Leslie Grantham's Harry Potter-like children's book is being turned into a movie
Harry Potter could soon have a new rival. Jack Bates and the Wizard's Spell, a 2016 children's book by the late EastEnders star Leslie Grantham, is set to become a feature film, according to publisher Mambi Books.
“The script has been written, some big names are attached and we are in talks with a production company who love it," Mambi Books's Mike Fox told the Sun. "It’s very much a ‘when’ not an ‘if’.”
The actor had already begun work on an outline for the screenplay before his death last week, aged 71. “Les found it difficult to finish the follow-up due to hospital visits for chemo and radiotherapy," Fox said. "But he did complete an outline of the story arc. He was keen on the film going ahead. We feel it will stand as a monument to his work."
The publisher said that Grantham had discussed donating part of the proceeds to Great Ormond Street children's hospital.
Grantham, best known for playing "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap, wrote his only children's book while in "semi-retirement" from acting. Narrated by a fairy, and following the adventures of a gifted schoolboy, the story is inspired by medieval myths and history; Richard III and the wizard Merlin appear as central characters.
Speaking to the Northern Echo in 2016, Grantham said he was influenced by Enid Blyton's classic children's books. "I grew up with The Famous Five," he said. "What I've tried to do is inform, educate and entertain."
The book was not well received on its initial release. It was parodied by The Guardian, and received a one-star review from books blog Reading for Sanity, which criticised the book for "misguided, confusing, chaotic storytelling" and "myriad grammatical and spelling errors". One error appears in the title on the book's front cover, which reads "Wizards" rather than "Wizard's". The pop culture news site Popbitch also pointed out that the book was filled with (perhaps unintentional) sexual innuendo.
It was not the actor's only venture into writing. Grantham also wrote a 2006 memoir, Life and Other Times, which explained how he was first inspired to pursue a professional acting career while serving a life sentence in prison for murdering a taxi driver in Germany.
