Code-cracking children's series optioned for TV

Helen Dennis’ middle-grade series Secret Breakers (Hodder Children’s Group) has been optioned for TV.

The deal was brokered between Karen Lawler, senior licensing manager at the Hachette Children’s Group, and Stephen Smallwood at Sparticles Productions, a film and TV company based in Dorset.

Dennis’ Secret Breakers is a six-book adventure series that follows a team of young code-crackers and their friends through various adventures. The first title was published in 2012. The Carnegie-nominated author was previously a teacher and is based in Sussex.

Karen Lawler, senior licensing manager at HCG described the middle-grade series as “an intricately plotted, fast-paced global thriller with brilliant characters at its heart”. She said: “It’s the perfect project for TV development and is the latest example of the HCG licensing team’s expanding footprint in TV and film adaptation. Sparticles Productions is exactly the right partner for Secret Breakers, and it’s exciting to discuss the ambitious plans they have even at this early stage.”

Alison Hume, screenwriter and executive producer at Sparticles Productions, revealed the team loved Dennis’ “original take on the world of code-breaking and are thrilled to have secured the opportunity to develop Secret Breakers for an international television audience”.

She added: “The world Helen has created in her book series is incredibly rich and offers huge dramatic possibilities. We know that audiences will be swept along with the epic quest to crack the most mysterious code in the world.”