Perfect pitch: how London writer sold hit show to Steven Spielberg

The London writer behind the most expensive TV show ever made today told of her surprise at how quickly Hollywood snapped up the script.

Terra Nova, which has its British premiere on Sky 1 tonight, is backed by Steven Spielberg and cost £60 million to produce.

It was written by Twickenham resident and former actress Kelly Marcel, 37, who says that she was "a nobody from England" when she went to pitch the show in Los Angeles, a trip which she had funded herself. But American television networks jumped on the script with a bidding war breaking out before it was commissioned as a straight-to-series show.

"It was honestly really odd, completely bizarre - that mad Hollywood thing that you sometimes hear about," said Marcel. "You go into Fox and CBS and NBC and you have 15 minutes to sell your show, and it's pretty much like tap-dancing. You're going 'and then this happens, and then this' - it is quite embarrassing and horrific. But I sold Terra Nova in my first week there."

The eco-thriller follows a family who travel back in time to the age of the dinosaurs to escape the 22nd century, where life on earth has been ruined by pollution.

Terra Nova has made Marcel one of the most sought-after screenwriters in Hollywood, with projects including a black comedy for Ben Stiller. The series also stars a number of British actors, including Mistresses star Shelley Conn.

Terra Nova is on Sky 1 at 8pm today.