Alan Thompson

A former Ilford Recorder journalist has used his experiences reporting on crime and courts in the 1970s to spin a fictional tale which he is hopeful will be adapted for television.

Alan Thompson, 64, worked for the Recorder until 1976 and has now put pen to paper to come up with Isle of Dogs, which tells the story of a police case that was never officially closed.

A shooting at a London nightclub and an interview with an Essex-based former senior police officer could hold the key to unlocking the mystery of a hostess who met an untimely end.

Alan, who went on to be a newsreader and editor for the BBC Eastern Counties and who lived in Little Heath for many years, said: “The characters have been developed on people I knew at the time.

“The genesis has to be in reality but the story itself is totally fictional.”

The story began life as a radio play he wrote 30 years ago and is a departure from his background as a journalist and writing documentaries.

He said: “When you write fact, you’ve picked the story up and someone is telling you the story. When you write fiction you have to get into the minds of who you’re writing about and how they would react.”

He is in negotiations to develop the story for television and has also had expressions of interest from publishers.