A QUARRY Bank film-maker has his sights set on turning his popular spoof internet video ‘Doreen’s Story’ into a TV series.

David Tristram’s mockumentary style short flick about fictional out-of-work Black Country mum Doreen - who suffers from 'lazy cow syndrome’ - went viral earlier this year, notching up more than a million hits on YouTube.

Following its success, he now hopes to develop the character and the idea into a fully fledged TV series.

David told the News former ITV executive Mike Prince has expressed an interest in the project and is currently in discussions with British and Canadian TV chiefs to bring Doreen to terrestrial television.

The 53-year-old film-maker, who grew up in Quarry Bank before moving to Bridgnorth, has already produced a pilot episode centred around the controversial character and featuring an array of supporting cast members including relatives, friends, neighbours, a psychiatrist, job centre manager and school teachers.

David said: "Mike Prince is currently in discussion with a number of TV channels about Doreen, and is also taking the pilot to the television buyers’ market in Cannes next month.

"In the meantime we are testing reaction via YouTube.

"I can’t give any definite news yet as these things progress relatively slowly, but obviously it’s exciting to think the project is being taken seriously at a fairly high level.

“Doreen is not a sit-com in any conventional sense, but its spoof documentary style is a great vehicle for taking a satirical look at topical issues, and I have some interesting storylines waiting in the wings.”

The original Doreen’s Story video saw the character - speaking in an exaggerated Black Country accent - telling how she had been forced to claim thousands in state benefits since being diagnosed with ‘lazy cow syndrome’, the only treatment for which is heroin, ecstacy and “a bit of crack at the weekends”.

Played by Walsall actress Gill Jordan, she talked about her children - Trojan and Tangerine (both pregnant) and described her difficulties in finding a job due to her ‘genetic’ condition which leaves her exhausted just opening the envelopes to take out her benefit cheques.

David, who is also busy working on a follow-up to his popular Inspector Drake movie, said he and amateur actress Gill came up with the idea for the spoof flick satirising the country’s benefit cheat culture while working on a corporate video.

Since then it has been featured in national newspapers and has attracted interest from all over the world.

YouTube viewers described it as a “brilliant piece of satire” and “pure genius”.

Doreen fans can enjoy a sneak preview of the series by searching for ‘Doreen's Story: TV Pilot’ on YouTube - or the full-length episode can be seen on www.Doreen.tv