A new drama about a mother who becomes embroiled in a dangerous romance as she struggles with a messy divorce is on its way to ITV.

Written by Jeremy Brock, Desire follows the life of central character Leia, whose new-found passion threatens to jeopardise her job, home and children.

The five-part series will be filmed in Sheffield over the summer but the cast has yet to be announced.

Jeremy, the creator behind Casualty, Mrs Brown and Bafta-winner The Last King Of Scotland, said: “For a long time, I’ve wanted to write about what it feels like to be a parent, to try and balance the unconditionality of parental love with the shock of adult passion.

“Our values are bound up with our identity … children, family, work, love, our ideologies.

“I wanted to write about what happens when all these lights, by which we steer, are suddenly torn away and we are offered the stark choice: adapt or risk losing everything.”

He said it was a huge privilege to be working on the new series with ITV and producers Mammoth Screen.