Gloucestershire mum and child safety campaigner, Ellen Roome, has teamed up with a production company to create a factual drama about her son Jools Sweeney's unexplained death and her fight to discover the truth behind it.
Ellen has signed a life-rights agreement with London-based BAFTA and Emmy-nominated Featuristic Films – the company behind Bardot, Secret Amazon and Silverback – to tell her story.
The true crime drama will depict the immediate aftermath of Jools' death; Ellen's emotional journey as she grieved for her son; her fight to find the truth behind the tragedy, taking on social media giants and the government in her search for answers; and her push to introduce Jools' Law, to stop other families from ever experiencing what she's going through.
Announcing the partnership on Instagram, Featuristic said it was 'honoured and humbled' to be working with Ellen to tell the story of 'a mother's courage, the search for truth, the fight for change and a campaign that could protect countless children around the world'.
Ellen said: 'When I lost Jools, my world collapsed. The grief was overwhelming. I began the fight for Jools’ Law because no parent should ever face the barriers I did when trying to understand their child’s final moments. We must stop children from being harmed or dying as a result of online harm, but if the worst happens, no parent should have to fight to understand why their child is dead.
'I’m grateful to Featuristic Films for bringing my journey and Jools’ Law into the national spotlight. Together, we must do more to hold social media companies to account and to protect children online.
'I have nothing to hide. My life has been turned upside down, yet I have kept going for Jools and for every family who might walk this road. I am incredibly grateful to the producers for treating this with honesty, compassion and care.'
Featuristic Films' head of television, Meredith Coral, said: ‘It’s an extraordinary privilege to be working with someone so open and committed to sharing her journey in order to courageously create change and protect others from experiencing what she is still, to this day, going through.
'Ellen has generously trusted us with her life story to turn into a TV series and I know we’re going to create something truly special together — something that will honour Ellen’s experience and help bring her story to the widest possible audience. Her honesty and resilience will resonate deeply and I’m certain, inspire many.’
The story is being adapted for screen by bestselling crime novelist G.D. Wright, who is writing the pilot with multi-genre author, Lisa Timoney, with a view to creating a six-part series.
The announcement comes after Gloucestershire Constabulary issued an official statement on the case, following an independent investigation carried out by former senior investigating officers Mark Bramah and Mick Randall, which highlighted serious failings and missed opportunities to secure 'vital digital evidence'.
It has now been escalated for further investigation – marking the most meaningful progress in Ellen's case since 2022.
Ellen added: 'This is a significant step forward. I have pushed for answers about what happened to my son. I am grateful to Mark and Mick for their expertise and integrity and to Gloucestershire Police for now taking these concerns seriously. Every family deserves a thorough investigation when a child dies.'
Ellen's campaign, which calls for the automatic preservation of a child's social media data when they die, continues – with Ellen having met with Baroness Beeban Kidron, Baroness Diana Barran and Baroness Nicky Morgan at the House of Lords on Monday 8 December 2025, to work through the proposed wording for an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill reflecting the core intention of Jools' Law.
Ellen has applied to the Attorney General for a FIAT to allow a new inquest, where the coroner can use the new Data Use and Access Act to request Jools’ social media data. The baronesses have also agreed to write to the Attorney General in support of Ellen's request.
