ONE of North Yorkshire's biggest small screen stars may lose out on the chance to make it big in Hollywood.

Screenwriters are working hard on a film version of Brideshead Revisited - but Castle Howard could be out of the picture.

Producer Douglas Rae, from Ecosse Films, said Andrew Davies, famous for award-winning adaptations of Daniel Deronda, Pride And Prejudice and Dr Zhivago, has been commissioned to work on the film.

A script is expected at Easter and there are hopes filming will start within a year.

But Mr Rae said the magnificent North Yorkshire stately home might not make it to the final cut.

"We have not decided where we are going to film it," he said.

"It's unlikely we are going to use the same setting as the serial, because this is a movie of the book.

"I don't want to be accused of making a feature film of the TV series."

When Brideshead Revisited hit the small screen in 1981, Castle Howard saw a surge in visitor numbers.

More than 20 years on, tourists from around the world still head to the stately home, where a permanent exhibition about the making of the series is on display.

But Mr Rae said they had no intentions of condensing the 11-hour TV series into a Hollywood movie. "This will appeal to an audience who have never read the book or seen the serial," he said.

"The thing about Castle Howard was that it was wonderful in the TV serial, but we have not made any decision."

Castle Howard spokeswoman Nicole Hingley said: "We still have not heard of anything, but it would be great if it did happen."

Updated: 09:57 Saturday, March 15, 2003