Shane Meadows plans Tom Simpson biopic

Shane Meadows has revealed that he plans to direct a movie about controversial cyclist Tommy Simpson.

Simpson, who was the first Briton to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France in 1962, collapsed and died from exhaustion during the competition in 1967 at the age of 29. An autopsy revealed that Simpson had ingested alcohol and amphetamines.

This Is England filmmaker Meadows said that his biopic wouldn't ignore Simpson's drug use. "He was very open about taking amphetamines and it was very different then," PA quotes him as saying.

Meadows added of Simpson: "He is a Nottingham guy and it is just one of those legendary stories that feels like a Hollywood movie script, though I would not treat it like that. I just think it is a great story.

"The French loved him because after two weeks in France he was doing his interviews in French, broken French admittedly, but this was just an ordinary guy from Nottingham."

Simpson was part of the British team that won a bronze medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. In 1965 he was crowned Britain's first road world champion and scooped the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year prize.

BAFTA winner Meadows is also the director behind Dead Man's Shoes and A Room For Romeo Brass.