Russell T Davies has been commissioned to write a feature screenplay based on the events surrounding the recent Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' fraud case for the UK's Celador Films, the sister company to the TV concern behind the hit gameshow.

Davies, whose credits Bob And Rose, Queer As Folk and The Second Coming, is approaching the story as a comedy of errors detailing the obsessions, rivalries and high hopes of the central characters, Major Charles Ingram, his wife Diana and college lecturer Tecwen Whittock.

All three were convicted of cheating their way to the £1m prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' In April 2003, using coughing tactics.

The film will be Davies' debut feature film, and Celador Film's second, following Stephen Frears' acclaimed urban thriller Dirty Pretty Things.

"It's a given that people know the story of the Millionaire fraud case," said Paul Smith, Chairman of Celador Films. "The recently screened documentary revealed the bare facts but it didn't get inside the heads of the three people involved. We have no wish to vilify the Ingrams or Mr Whittock, and now that the court case is over, there is a wonderfully funny and engaging story to be told."