Ms Jenkins abandoned a law career to take up writing, and was the principal writer on the first series of This Life, the story of a group of trainee lawyers sharing a house in London.

Now publishers Hodder & Stoughton have secured the rights to her first two books after reading only a synopsis and the opening chapter of the first book.

The Daily Telegraph reports she has been paid �600,000 - believed to be a British record for a first time novelist. American rights could sell for even more.

'Turning Bridget Jones on its head'

Daniela Nardini: Now one of TV's most in-demand actresses

The first book, HONEYmoon, due out in June 2000, is similar in tone to The Diary Of Bridget Jones - Helen Fielding's story of a single woman looking for the right job and the right man - but Hodder & Stoughton promise it will "turn that phenomenon on its head".

HONEYmoon features a woman in her twenties, Honey Moon, who is married but wishes she was single.

This Life grew over two years to become a massive hit for BBC Two, as viewers and critics became fascinated with the tangled emotional and professional lives of the housemates.

But although plans were considered for a third series, the BBC decided not to recommission the show.

Now the stars of the series have joined Ms Jenkins in going onto greater success.

Daniela Nardini, who played Anna, is currently starring in police drama Undercover Heart on BBC One.