Ten years ago, Beverley Ross created a board game which won a contest on a Discovery Channel reality TV show and was all set to be launched on to the market.

But it never made it to the toyshop shelves. A similar game called Cranium was brought out around the same time, causing production of Ms Ross's game to be abandoned.

Cranium went on to sell tens of millions worldwide and was ultimately bought up for 77 million dollars by Hasbro, the company that makes Monopoly.

Ms Ross was left to reflect on what might have been.

But now the 55-year-old from north Manchester is finally about to find success with a new game she has created.

Described as a fast-paced action game for young children, it won the backing of major French distributor Asmodée Éditions, which markets games across Europe and the United States.

With a television advert being finalised, the game - called The Sea Lion Show in France - will be available on Amazon's French site.

It is due to be launched in the UK and should be in the toyshops in time for Chanucah.

"It's taken 10 years but it's really exciting. I've never given up," said Ms Ross.

"I invented the game while walking my dog, Ruby. It is based on the simple game of fetch."

"The French company loved the concept, but there are a lot of dog-themed games on the market in France already, so they changed it to sea lions."

Whether sea lions or dogs will feature in the UK version is not being revealed.

Ms Ross said the details, as well as the game's British name, remained a closely guarded secret.