JK Rowling's detective novels to be adapted for the small screen

JK Rowling has published two novels under her male nom de plume Robert Galbraith

A series based on the detective novels written by JK Rowling under the name Robert Galbraith is to be made for TV, the BBC has announced.

The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm will form the basis of the serial, which will be made with the assistance of the Harry Potter author.

The BBC said it was a "coup" to secure the books, which feature private detective Cormoran Strike.

Filming details for the series have yet to be determined.

The number of episodes for the series are still in discussion, and it is not yet clear when it will be broadcast.

The BBC - together with US broadcaster HBO - has already made a small screen version of Rowling's A Casual Vacancy, which is due to be aired in February.

Production company Bronte Films, which made the mini-series, will also be responsible for the new crime drama.

BBC director of television Danny Cohen said: "It's a wonderful coup for BBC TV to be bringing JK Rowling's latest books to the screen.

"With the rich character of Cormoran Strike at their heart, these dramas will be event television across the world."

It emerged Rowling had written The Cuckoo's Calling under a male pseudonym last year, which immediately propelled the book into the bestsellers' list, three months after publication.

She said it had been a "liberating experience" writing under an unknown identity and had hoped to "keep this secret a little longer".

It later transpired a legal firm was the source of the leak of information to The Sunday Times, which revealed the news.

At the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival earlier this year, Rowling revealed the series of books were open-ended and she would produce more than her seven Harry Potter books.

"It's not seven. It's more. It's pretty open ended," she said, adding she could keep giving more cases to Strike.

At the event in July, the author said she had begun work on plotting the fourth book.