Dawn French pens her fourth novel

Dawn French has written a new novel.

The 62-year-old comedy star has penned \'Because of You\' - her first novel in five years - and she is set to release her latest effort in October.

Dawn - who previously wrote \'A Tiny Bit Marvellous\', \'Dear Silvia\' and \'According to Yes\' - said: "This novel dared me to write it, so I did. I have left parts of my heart in these pages. (Not my actual heart. That would be messy...)"

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\'Because of You\' tells the story of two very different women who give birth in the same hospital ward on New Year\'s Eve.

Louise Moore, the managing director of publisher Michael Joseph, told The Bookseller: "Dawn\'s fourth novel is a very contemporary story, whose cleverly drawn characters are challenged by themselves, each other and surprising twists and turns of fate.

"It is a triumphant novel about mothers and daughters, modern families and unconditional love. Dawn\'s warmth and curiosity for people shine off every page - this is hallmark Dawn French."

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The TV star previously opened up about her approach to writing, admitting she likes to work in a structured way.

The \'French & Saunders\' star explained: "I have big whole pages with every scene that I want to write and I will call them scenes rather than chapters just because then I can see them and I write that all completely out.

"That doesn\'t mean to say I can\'t veer from that, and I do sometimes, but that gives me a structure and that makes me feel safe in the knowledge that I\'ve worked out where we\'re going.

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"When you say screen you\'re assuming that I write on the computer. You see, I am one of those people - I haven\'t exactly got a chisel and a tablet and I haven\'t got a quill and some ink but I have got a pencil and a lined pad.

"I couldn\'t possibly have anything near me that might allow me to watch Madonna on YouTube."