BOLTON'S Matt Greenhalgh has gone from tea boy on the set of Hollyoaks to writing the BBC's latest flagship drama . . .

The 30-year-old who had the dubious honour of being the first tea boy and runner employed on the set of the teen drama, is now lined up for red hot success.

He has penned Burn It -- a 10-part series that is at the forefront of the launch of the new digital channel, BBC3.

And although it may all be a far cry from his days of making tea and running errands, Matt says what he learned about script writing in those early days has proved invaluable.

Now, his latest drama, starring Mel B, Lisa Faulkner, of Holby City and Brookside fame, and Little Lever teenage actor, Dale Peters, is set to hit the screen on Sunday, the BBC 3's official launch night.

Not only that, but he has co-written an episode of the new Cold Feet series, and has been shortlisted for a BAFTA award for an episode he wrote for popular drama series, Clocking Off.

He is preparing to write a second series of Burn It, has one eye on directing an episode or two . . . and has a deal to write something for Working Titles, one of the country's biggest film companies.

Matt of Lostock went to school in Prestwich and attended college in Moss Side. He said: "I learned a lot about life during my time there. The experiences I picked up for Burn It in particular were far more valuable than those I could have got sitting in a classroom."

Matt first began writing about Manchester's nightlife for a magazine, but soon changed his mind about wanting to develop a career in journalism. Instead, he got his job making tea on the set of Hollyoaks, in the teen soap's early days.

He said: "After a few years I got to the point where I was understanding scripts and what was needed from them."

As a result, Matt wrote a film script, as yet not made. But it was this script which helped find him work. His first commission was for Clocking Off.

And the rest is history.

Burn It is his first commission for a full series. He said: "It follows a bunch of mates who had the best time of their lives in the 1990s, but then follows what happens next.

"The youth of the 90s has not been represented much on television at all. And a series like this has not been done in half hour episodes before, but I think it works well. Hopefully within the 30 minutes, it will keep people glued to the screen."

Matt's scriptwriting career took off when he handed over his film script to the production company behind Clocking Off.

They asked him if he had any ideas for the programme, and he sent in a story, which was accepted.

He said: "Getting the commission was marvellous. When you see the casting tapes first it is weird because you are watching people speaking your words against a white plain background. But when you see the final product on the screen, you really can not believe it."

RED HOT FAME: Scriptwriter Matt Greenhalgh has penned "Burn It" a drama on Sunday

YOUTH OF THE 90s: A scene from 'Burn It' showing Claire, (Melanie Brown); Emma, (Lisa Faulkner) and Tina, (Marsha Thomson)

ACTION SHOT: Carl, (Chris Cogill), Andy, (Kieran O'Brien) and Jon (Willian Ash) take a leap