A MAJOR new BBC 1 crime drama was based on a novel by a Ledbury man and it will feature a Ledbury girl in a "pivotal" role.

The eight part series, "The Interceptor" is set to reach our screens this spring, on a date still to be announced, and it is a screen adaptation of the best-seller by Ledbury writer, Cameron Addicot.

By pure coincidence, Former John Masefield High School pupil Melissa Johns, aged 25, will feature in all eight episodes, in what is her first regular role.

She will be an undercover "listener" in the the gripping cloak and dagger drama.

Miss Johns stresses it is not the major role, but adds: "Friends tell me, stop playing this down."

Miss Johns is no stranger to the television screen, having landed smaller roles previously: in Casualty, as Becca James and as Juliana Bracks, in Doctors.

Before then, in 2011, Miss Johns was awarded a Laurence Olivier Bursary.

Miss Johns, who began acting with Ledbury Amateur Dramatic Society at the age of seven, was one of about 40 students on National Council for Drama Training accredited courses who took part in auditions, where she was representing the East 15 Acting School in London.

Her proud mum, Sarah Johns of Oatleys Terrace said of her latest success: "She's done very well; and what are the chances of the author of The Interceptor living in Ledbury and a girl from Ledbury being in every episode?"

Miss Johns agreed: "It is a huge coincidence. We could not believe it. There are not so many people in Ledbury, and the town not so big."

The coincidence only came to light at a pre-broadcast screening last month at the Bafta building in Piccadilly, London.

Neither Mr Addicot not Miss Johns were aware of their shared Ledbury background until then.

Miss Johns said: "He was shocked, as I was, really; and he was just great; very down to earth, although he has had this very interesting background."

Miss Johns said of The Interceptor: "I do think it is set to be pretty big, and it is great to be part of something like this."

The series is about a Customs Officer, Marcus Ashton (Ash), played by O.T. Fagbenle, who is recruited to a new law enforcement team tasked with hunting down some of Britain's most wanted criminals.

Mr Addicott said: "The character of Sadie is not one of the four main characters but she is pivotal to the team, and she is one member of the cast that will be really liked, because people will really identify with her. She looks like team members I had in real life. Every team had someone like Sadie."

He added: "It was surprising to find Melissa and I come from the same area. You could not have written it better. We were born and bred within ten miles of each other, but I had no idea she existed until, she sent me a message on Facebook."

Mr Addicott himself is a former undercover officer with H.M. Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency, and he spent nearly two decades working as a criminal investigator, covert surveillance operative and commander, informant handler and undercover officer.

The Interceptor, based on his own experiences, was published by Penguin in July 2010, and it went straight to first position in the Amazon True Crime Bestseller list.

The BBC purchased purchased the rights to The Interceptor in 2013 and filming, now complete, started in March 2014 as a BBC Drama/BBC Worldwide production.

Mr Addicott was a technical and script consultant on the eight one hour series.