THE writer of TV crime drama Prey has been awarded a BAFTA in recognition of his work.

Chris Lunt was presented with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Breakthrough Brit award at glitzy award ceremony in London.

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The accolade, which supports the UK’s future stars of film, television and games, was presented in recognition of his work writing TV crime drama Prey.

Mr Lunt, from Briercliffe, said: “It’s the icing on the cake for a year that included the broadcast of my first television series.

“As a writer you tend to work in isolation, so being recognised by the industry and named a Breakthrough Brit is a great boost to the confidence.

“BAFTA is a globally recognised institution, so to simply be associated with them is a massive accolade. “ The father-of-two has most recently been involved in scripting a remake of ‘60s spy show The Saint.

He flew out to Hollywood in May to start work on the first episode then returned home to write over the summer.

The original series of The Saint starred Roger Moore as fictional detective and thief Simon Templar, and hit the small screen in 1962 and ran for seven years.

The Return of the Saint followed in 1978, with Ian Ogilvy taking on the role of Templar, but ran for one series.

No official names have been released as yet for who will be playing Templar in the remake, which has been commissioned by Motion Picture Corporation of America.

Prey aired in April on ITV to rave reviews.

The three-part series starred Life On Mars and Mad Dogs star John Simm, who attended Edge End High in Nelson, stars as hard-working detective sergeant Marcus Farrow, who is on the run after being framed for the murders of his wife and son.

Mr Lunt added: ““Having struggled for so many years, I hope that my story inspires other emerging writers. I hope that it underscores that even more mature writers can ‘breakthrough’, and that if you have a dream you should never, ever, give it up.”

The award which was launched last year in partnership with Burberry was presented on October 27 at a reception hosted by the BBC Radio 1 presenter Greg James at the Burberry store in Regent Street, London.