Billy Elliot author to make film about TV chef Nigel Slater

Mar 12 2010 The Journal

BILLY Elliot author Lee Hall is to turn the childhood memoirs of TV chef Nigel Slater into a film for the BBC.

Newcastle-born Lee, who has had a recent hit with the play The Pitman Painters, will be adapting Slater’s book Toast into a 90-minute screenplay to be shown on BBC1.

Billed as “the Billy Elliot of the kitchen”, the film is to be made by London-based Ruby Films, which was also behind the acclaimed BBC drama Small Island.

The screenplay will chronicle the chef’s childhood from the moment he starts to develop his passion for cooking and against the backdrop of the death of his mother.

Yesterday Lee said Ruby Films approached him to write the screenplay and he had been happy to oblige.

“I love cooking and I loved the story of Nigel finding his feet, his creativity and sexuality through food,” he said.

“I have had lunch with Nigel but I was too scared to cook so bought the most expensive pork pies in London and we had a feast.