A prequel TV series of Sex and the City has been given the go-ahead in the US. The storyline will span Carrie Bradshaw's teenage years in the 1980s to her early days as a writer. It is based on Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell's novel The Carrie Diaries, based in New York. TV network, CW, has confirmed it will pilot the new programme and the show will focus on Sarah Jessica Parker's character and her life before she met her friends.

The character's high school life in Manhattan will see her asking questions about love, sex, friendship and family. Casting for the series has yet to be confirmed, but it is thought that Parker will return, as will Kim Cattrall, who played Samantha Jones in the original series.The CW prequel is being written by Amy Harris, who worked on HBO's original. There are unconfirmed reports that Blake Lively, from Gossip Girl, and Miley Cyrus are in the running to play a young Carrie Bradshaw. The film Sex and the City, starring all the original characters, won many awards in 2008, including MTV's best summer movie so far and two People's Choice awards for favourite cast and favourite song from a soundtrack (Label for Love by Fergie). Its 2010 sequel was panned by critics but went on to make $288m (£186m) at the global box office.

Source: BBC