Dougie Brimson is sitting in his house in Hemel Hempstead, getting ready for the premiere of his movie Top Dog, based on his best-selling novel of the same name, and remembering when he met Martin Kemp (EastEnders, The Krays), who lives in Rickmansworth, and is the director of the film.

“I had spoken to him over Skype when he was in LA,“ says the 55-year-old RAF man turned author, “and he told me his vision of what he wanted from my script. So I wrote another draft, by then I think it was draft five.

“And then there we were sitting in his house in Ricky and he just ripped it apart! For about two hours,“ he laughs. “It was absolutely soul-destroying, but he’s a great guy and I soon realised what he was trying to teach me.

“It was completely surreal – I was sitting in his study and all of a sudden he jumps up and starts acting out a scene. The guy’s iconic, I was a Spandau Ballet fan back in the day, but he’s a normal, genuinely lovely guy.“

Top Dog was originally published in the early 2000s, and tells the story of gang leader Billy Evans who’s ruled his turf in London for more years than he cares to remember. When an old adversary appears on the scene, Billy sees a golden opportunity not only to reassert his authority but also to have some fun. Billy soon realises he’s pushed his luck too far, but this time he’s got more than the law to worry about.

The film version, which was released in cinemas and simultaneously on DVD and Blu-ray this week, stars Leo Gregory, who was in the film adaptation of Green Street, another of Dougie’s books, Ricci Harnett (28 Days Later, Rise of the Footsoldier) and Vincent Regan (Clash of the Titans, St George’s Day), and is produced by Jonathan Sothcott (Vendetta).

Top Dog was the sequel to Dougie’s first novel, The Crew, which was born out of unlikely collaboration with Lynda La Plante (Prime Suspect).

“She wanted to write something about football for TV and wanted to employ me as a football consultant,“ says Dougie, who’s writing career had started when he and his brother, the comedian and writer Eddy Brimson, both of them devout Watford FC fans, penned the best-selling Everywhere We Go, about life on the terraces, followed by a further three football-related books.

“So I went and met her and said ‘I’m not being funny but this idea is absolutely rubbish’. It made no sense, it was unrealistic.“

So the screenwriter of Widows and Trial and Retribution told Dougie to come up with a better idea – and, four days later, he did, going back to her office with the outline of The Crew.

“She loved it but ITV turned it down, and she said to me ‘You’ve got to write this as a novel because it’s a brilliant story’, and so I did.“

A few years later, Dougie wrote Top Dog after coming under pressure from fans who wanted to know what gang leader/hooligan Billy Evans got up to next.

By the 2000s, however, the demand for football books was, in Dougie’s own words, drying up and he no longer enjoyed writing so he stopped altogether, taking a job with the Ministry of Defence – until the ebooks came along and kick-started his writing career again in 2011.

“And here I am now,“ he laughs, “with a movie out today, another one wrapping next week (We Still Kill The Old Way, due out later this year), and busy working on another sequel.“

This new novel, a comedy, will be particularly interesting to readers of the Watford Observer as it takes up the story of another Billy, who lives in Bushey and hangs out in Watford town centre and who made his debut in Billy’s Log ten years ago. Keeping with the times, it’s to be called Billy’s Blog, and there’s already talk of ‘something for TV’, though Dougie can’t reveal just what yet.

“It was basically based on me and my mates,“ says Dougie, “all my characters are based on somebody I know, so it’s been really nice to go back and revisit all the characters and the places. It’s good fun.“

  • Top Dog is rereleased in paperback by Caffeine Nights Publishing on June 1. The film is out now through Universal Pictures. Details: dougiebrimson.com