Alex Wheatle (pictured)’s best-selling series of Crongton books is being adapted for BBC Children’s with casting currently underway.

New Pictures is producing the 10 x 25’ comedy-drama that is aimed at a 10-12 iPlayer audience; it is written by writer and comedian Archie Maddocks.

Crongton explores the lives of a group of young people living in a thriving, multicultural community in a fictional urban housing estate, as they navigate the complexities of social politics, peer pressure and identity and features animated fantasy sequences.

Joanna Hanley produces, Ethosheia Hylton directs and the executive producers are by Imogen O’Sullivan, Elaine Pyke and Willow Grylls; Aisha Bywaters is casting director. Writers joining Maddocks include Athena Kugblenu, Thara Popoola and Willow Mirza.

Archie Maddocks said: “Reading Alex Wheatle’s books, I was struck by how much the characters and their world reflect my own upbringing. They were just like me and my friends; I could have known them all. Crongton is a project that has been close to my heart for a very long time and, like many, many fans of the novels, I can’t wait to finally see the transformation of Alex’s amazing world from the page to the screen.”

Grylls and O’Sullivan added: “Alex Wheatle’s Crongton books are modern classics, and well-thumbed staples in classrooms across the country. They offer a picture of a diverse, chaotic, funny, and joyful British experience with so much to say to young people, and particularly young people from less well represented backgrounds.”

Image: Alex Wheatle.