Short film Youthless has been optioned for television by Yorkshire-based Rollem Productions, with the support of writer Jimmy McGovern. 
 

Jordon Scott Kennedy’s short will be adapted as a three-part series (w/t Youthless); it will be set before the events of the original.

The drama explores ‘adultification’ from the point of view of kids growing up on a forgotten council estate in rural West Yorkshire. 
 

The black and white trilogy, based on Scott Kennedy’s own formative years, will follow Jud Donlan’s life over three summer holidays before entering the adult world. 
 

Kennedy wrote and directed the short and will be closely involved in the TV adaptation, for which there is no broadcaster attached yet. He said: “When Rollem showed interest in optioning Youthless, I didn’t hesitate to agree and did so almost immediately. 
 

“Rollem is the ideal fit for me because of Kay Mellor’s incredible legacy and the company’s track record of developing new voices and underrepresented talent. Rollem genuinely believe in my voice and our future together feels very bright.”
 

Rollem’s creative director Gaynor Mellor added: “We’re overjoyed to be working with Jordon on Youthless (w/t) and bring his vision to a wider audience. His short film had us hooked from the outset. 

“Kay was passionate about working with new writers and we couldn’t be happier to showcase this Bradford based talent who’s already making quite the name for himself!”
 

McGovern remarked: “Jordon Scott Kennedy has a great future ahead of him. I thought Youthless showed tremendous talent and there is an underrepresented audience for this TV project.”