Brian Belo to sue over TOWIE idea
- Published
Former Big Brother winner Brian Belo is suing ITV and LimePictures
Former Big Brother winner Brian Belo is suing ITV and LimePictures over claims he came up with the idea of The Only Way Is Essex first.
The 2007 winner lodged a High Court writ to stop the show being aired until the matter is legally resolved.
The 24-year-old claims ITV and LimePictures ripped off his idea for a show called Totally Essex.
ITV and LimePictures have denied committing breaches of copyright and confidence.
In a joint statement, ITV and LimePictures said: "The Only Way is Essex is an original concept created and developed by an award-winning team at LimePictures.
"Brian Belo's claim against Lime and ITV is totally without foundation and will be vigorously defended.
"The creative team at Lime Pictures is very proud of TOWIE and the notion that it was not entirely their own work is a serious allegation which is completely refuted."
Belo claims he developed and presented a pilot for Totally Essex to LimePictures featuring four of the characters from The Only Way Is Essex.
It was turned down by the production company and ITV.
A spokesman for Brian has told Newsbeat that he is seeking a declaration from the court that he is entitled to any monetary profits from the successful format.