The downbeat show will be developed into a feature film for release in cinemas across the UK, the star revealed on BBC One's Clive Anderson All Talk.

"I'm fascinated with films, it's what I've always really wanted to do, so we are going to have a little go," the 35-year-old admitted.

The movie will retain the show's original cast, with former Brookside stars Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson again playing Aherne's parents.

Aherne: Helped the Americans create their own Royle family

Aherne, who rose to fame as the aged chat show host Mrs Merton, will write the script with long-time collaborator Craig Cash - her boyfriend Dave in The Royle Family.

The warts-and-all sitcom about a northern family has proved so popular that it is to be moved from its original home on BBC Two to the corporation's flagship entertainment channel BBC One when it returns on 23 September.

The comedy has also proved a hit with US TV networks, with Aherne helping American script writers create their own version of The Royle Family.

"It's all a bit bonkers really," she told Clive Anderson. "They were interested because they had heard it was about a family and they were looking for family comedy."

Lauded as "Britain's premier writing team", Aherne and Cash went to LA to discuss the project.

"Craig went out in the sun and got as red as a beetroot," she said. "They thought we were really eccentric."

The Royle Family is not the only BBC comedy set for the big screen treatment.

Kevin and Perry: Brits abroad for new film

A film about adventures of Kevin and Perry, the hormonally-challenged teenagers from Harry Enfield and Chums, is already in production.

The movie, starring Enfield and Nil By Mouth actress Kathy Burke, sees the lank-haired pair heading for Ibiza in search of girls.

Kevin and Perry - The Movie, is being made by Tiger Aspect, one of the companies behind the highly-successful Bean - The Ultimate Disaster Movie, which starred Rowan Atkinson.

BBC Two's cult comedy The Fast Show is also being turned into a film script. The show's creators Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse are developing the idea with Hollywood heart-throb Johnny Depp - an avid fan - eager to land a role.