WHEN Bury Times Group reporter Neil Brandwood interviewed Victoria Wood six years ago, it inspired him to write a biography of the local star.

And this week he achieved his ambition when Virgin Books published his 256 page book.

"After all this time, I'm just relieved it's finally on the bookshelves," said Neil (33). "I sacrificed so many nights out and weekends to write the thing I don't know how I would have felt if no-one wanted to publish it."

It is notoriously difficult for a first-time author to get their manuscripts read, never mind being offered a publishing deal, but fate helped Neil land a literary agent in his first attempt.

"A couple of Christmases ago, I was given biographies of Oliver Reed and Tony Hancock. They were written in the same sort of style as my book, honest but not muck-raking, so I contacted the author, Cliff Goodwin, to find out who his agent was, and wrote to her.

"She liked the sound of my book and so I mailed the manuscript to her. The only problem was that it got lost in the post. Fortunately, it eventually arrived in London and the agent said she wanted to represent me. She showed the manuscript to Virgin Books and they offered me a contract."

Neil added: "Things got a bit scary then because the book was suddenly a reality. Up until that time, I'd just been banging away on the computer, not really thinking about things like what the cover should look like or what to call it. I just wanted to get it finished but every time it seemed as if I was nearing the end, Victoria would do a new television series or embark upon a mammoth nationwide tour and I knew I'd have to cover them to ensure the book was up to date."

Living and working in Bury helped Neil in his research into Victoria's early life and family background.

" It made it easier to get in contact with Victoria's neighbours, schoolfriends and teachers. And the Bury Times itself was very useful as there were news stories about her mum and dad in the old files from the 1950s and '60s."

Victoria was a pupil of Fairfield County Primary School and Bury Grammar School and the book contains photographs of her in school line-ups and plays.

"Bury Grammar very kindly let me look through their archives and I found all sorts of jokey poems and fiction that Victoria had written for the school magazine. It was fascinating," said Neil.

His research also saw him travel to Birmingham, where Victoria was a student, and Morecambe, where she lived from 1977 until 1992.

"It was quite embarrassing having to stand up in a strange pub and say 'I'm writing a book about Victoria Wood who used to live here. Did anyone know her?' But fortunately, all the people I spoke to for the book were very co-operative."

These included those who worked with Victoria in her stage plays and television shows and even those who were in the Rochdale Youth Theatre Workshop with the teenage Victoria in the 1960s.

Neil also attended the London press launch of Victoria's 1998 sit-com, dinnerladies, as well as sitting in on recordings for the second series at the BBC.

Neil is now working on a television screenplay.

"After spending so long writing a factual book, it's good to be able to do something more creative," he said. "I can't go into detail about the screenplay at this stage but a lot of the inspiration is based on people I meet, things I overhear and some of my own experiences."

His book is predicted to be a best-seller, especially for the lucrative Christmas market, so after devoting so much time studying Victoria, what does he think of the award-winning star?

"Before the book, I just thought she was really funny and talented but what I found interesting about researching her life and career was how her early experiences have influenced her and how she's changed over the years from the insecure and lonely schoolgirl to triumphing as Britain's most popular entertainer.

"It's a real ugly duckling story and of course the fact that she's from Bury made it that much more fascinating."