EL James has recruited her screenwriter husband to take charge of the script for the controversial sequel to the phenomenally successful adaptation of her book Fifty Shades of Grey.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Niall Leonard has been enlisted to write Fifty Shades Darker after a shake-up which saw original screenwriter Kelly Marcel leave the project. Leonard has previously written for TV shows including Ballykissangel, Wire in the Blood and Monarch of the Glen. He has also directed episodes of The Bill.

Leonard reportedly worked on the script for Fifty Shades of Grey but was uncredited.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, producer Michael De Luca wrote: “Niall is an outstanding writer in his own right, with multiple established credits, and we are lucky to have him join Team Fifty.”

Rumours originally circulated that EL James would herself be behind the script after she was reportedly unhappy with suggested changes made to her original dialogue. The sequel is still waiting for a new director after Sam Taylor-Johnson refused to come back for a second time.

Sources suggest that stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan have been negotiating higher salaries for the second film after both picked up just $250,000 for the first. Fifty Shades of Grey has now made $568m worldwide.