TWO talented men are putting their skills to the test on what could become TV's latest smash hit series.

Critics are already raving about the new Channel Four programme "Shameless", which hits the screen tonight.

The drama has been penned by BAFTA-winning Paul Abbott, the man responsible for hit BBC1 series "Clocking Off".

Shameless is based on the writer's own experiences of growing up in Burnley.

And young Barrowford actor Jody Latham will play the part of Paul's character in what will be his first major role following a series of small TV parts.

Former Barden High School pupil Paul, now 43, was a member of Burnley Writers' Circle, who lived in Coal Clough Lane before moving to Healey Wood Road and studied A-levels in criminology and psychology at Burnley College and Nelson and Colne College.

He went on to become the youngest-ever scriptwriter on Coronation Street.

He said Shameless was inspired by his bleak early life in a parentless family: "I've had the idea for Shameless in the back of my mind for years.

"It's a real Scotch broth of my experience.

"But it's not bleak or sentimental, it's the total opposite - just really funny and outrageous.

"I hung onto the title 'Shameless' for its irony, the kind of accusation outsiders would have chucked at my family back in the 70s.

"To observers we were a chaotic bunch of kids trying to bring ourselves up after both parents had walked. No doubt about it, we were a mess.

"But how were we to know that?"

He added: "One of the great things about being a writer, perhaps the greatest thing, is that it gives you a voice."

In Shameless, Jody Latham plays a young Paul Abbott - called Philip Gallagher in the show.

Jody, 21, a former pupils of Walton High School, Nelson, said it has not been easy for him to make it as an actor -- because he suffers from dyslexia, which makes it hard for him to read and spell.

He said: "It was quite hard when I first started going for auditions because I felt a bit stupid.

"I panicked sometimes at auditions which made me stutter and even more nervous when I was reading my lines.

"But as I got more confident and I started reading a lot more, I got better. And this just shows that if you want to achieve something in life, you can, no matter what may be standing in your way."

He added: "It was great to play Paul. Being from the area I felt like I could really get stuck into the part.

"The tale goes through his youth and how he was brought up in Burnley. All the family are really close to one another no matter what they go through but it's like they can say anything to one another but if anyone from outside the family says it then there's trouble."

The series will focus on a different character each night it is screened -- with Jody's character being highlighted in the first and the fifth programme.

He added: "It's been such an honour to get a part in something as big as this. We were filming over a four and a half month period during summer for 12 hours a day. It took its toll but it has been worth every minute."

But modest Jody, a former member of Burnley Youth Theatre, said despite his confident exterior he would find it hard to deal with fame: "I wouldn't know what to do if somebody asked me for my autograph, it would be really embarrassing. I would be like -- 'are you talking to me?'."

Jody has also had parts in Coronation Street, Heartbeat, The Cops, Big Meg Little Meg, Crimefile, the BBC1 drama Clocking Off and a Channel Four production about the lives of the ancient Greeks. His family and friends are planning to watch Shameless at a bar in Barrowford tonight.