The BBC have denied they copied a singer's idea for a reality show after she sued them for £10million.
Singer Gladness Jukic is suing the BBC for £10million as she claims they stole her idea for the popular reality programme, Glow Up: Britains' Next Make-Up Star. The 32-year-old claimed the BBC3 show was 'stolen' from an idea she pitched to them via email in 2018. The show, which first aired in 2019, was made to find new makeup artists. Stacey Dooley hosted the first two series before Maya Jama replaced her in the third series. On the fifth series, model Leomie Anderson became the presenter.
The most recent series aired between April and May this year. Jukic, who has the stage name of Bossiie, claimed her idea was emailed to BBC commissioning editors in a nine-page PowerPoint document in May 2018, around the same time the competition was commissioned. Jukic also claimed she came up with the idea in November 2017.
Wall to Wall Media Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros, pitched for the show to be produced under the working name 'Face Off etc'. However, the singer believes she should be compensated £10million as the final show was so similar to her idea - Bossiie: 10-Minute Makeover, which had self-taught YouTuber make-up artists competing.
The BBC claims Glow Up was commissioned from Wall to Wall and started production at the same time after it was first submitted in February. BBC's lawyers have disputed the claim that the idea was 'stolen' at the High Court and are trying to get it thrown out, but Jukic is hoping to establish ownership of copyright in the programme. The artist, who wasn't at the hearing and was not represented, iis seeking summary judgment in her claim.
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Supplied by Champion News)The corporation insists her idea never reached them because the email bounced back and claimed that the pitch was made after they already commissioned their make-up programme. They also denied the shows are similar except in 'commonplace' ways that aren't protected by copyright.
Jukic claimed the idea 'had been stolen' and is trying to prove it was 'aired without her consent' as the rightful copyright holder. At a hearing this week, Ashton Chantrielle, for the BBC and Wall to Wall Media Ltd, claimed to Mr Justice Thompsell: 'She says her show has been used and her trademark has been used and that she sent her treatment to the BBC by email.
"The treatment in issue is a nine-page PowerPoint presentation called Bossiie: 10-Minute Makeover. The claimant's case is that she created the treatment in November 2017. The claimant has pleaded that she originally called her treatment Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-up Star. There is no evidence of this. The claimant claims to have sent the treatment to the BBC on 16 May 2018 by email.
"It is the BBC's position that it never had access to the treatment." Chantrielle said evidence showed that Jukic's email 'bounced back' and was never properly received by the BBC as the attachment was too big for their system to accept.
She continued: "The Glow Up show is an original format of television show, created in-house and produced by W2W on commission from the BBC independently and without reference to the claimant or her treatment The idea for the Glow Up show was first conceived by W2W...before the alleged date of the creation of Ms Jukic's treatment. On or around 15 February 2018, the redeveloped concept of the make-up competition show was proposed by W2W to the BBC.
"A formal pitch for the Glow Up show under the name Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-up Star was created and submitted to the BBC on 16 February 2018 before being commissioned in May 2018. It appears as though the claimant at one point may have truly believed that the treatment she created which was sent to the BBC has been copied by the defendants."
She also said that it being a 'reality format' and is a 'competition' isn't something 'copyright would protect'. The judge has reserved his decision until a later date.
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