A LEADING TV scriptwriter and author is calling on football fans to help bring a world premiere to Blackburn.

Julian Perkins, who has worked on EastEnders, Emmerdale and the Bill, is hoping to debut his work Heart Scarf and Soul at Blackburn’s Empire Theatre.

The play is based around a Blackburn Rovers fan who discovers that he’s addicted to his local club - and that it is ruining his life.

His family stage an intervention and on medical grounds he must kick his footy habit or risk killing himself.

Julian said: “It is basically a comedy but with a serious side to it. Although based on a Blackburn Rovers fan, it could actually be about many clubs around the country.

“It is also a commentary on many football clubs and how the fans are often the forgotten ones and yet they are the heart and soul of any club.”

Although born in Blackpool, Julian, 59, grew up in Blackburn and worked in the area for the family business.

“I got the idea for the play when I was working on Casualty,” he said. “I am now looking to raise £10,000 so that we can stage the play.

“My ultimate aim is that the play will tour the country and the team that the main character supports will change to reflect the area where the play is being put on.

“The problems of being a devoted Blackburn Rovers fan are shared by supporters up and down the country: the uncertainty about the club’s owners, the past glories and that never ending hope that the good times might return.”

Julian is quick to stress that the play is not intended to be a challenge to Rovers owner the Venky’s.

“What has happened at Ewood Park has happened at clubs around the country,” he said. “It is a story any fan can relate to.”

Julian has spent weeks talking to fans as background for the play and he has got the backing of the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust.

Anyone wanting to support the play can contact www.roverstrust.com and Julian is promising that a percentage of any royalties the play makes will go to the backers.

“It is the fans’ play,” he said. “It is their story.”