A PLAYWRIGHT who claims a comedy drama series filmed and produced on Merseyside was her idea is to sue a well-known scriptwriter for “passing it off as her own�.
Bonkers, starring Liza Tarbuck, was filmed at locations around the Liverpool region and aired on ITV1 in February.
Now Tricia Walsh-Smith claims she wrote a stage play called Bonkers in 1987, and has instructed John Baldwin QC, the barrister who successfully won the Da Vinci Code court case for Dan Brown, to file a claim to the High Court of Justice against scriptwriter Sally Wainwright for breach of copyright.
The programme Bonkers was co-produced by Ms Wainwright’s own Sparkhouse Productions and Childwall-based Lime Pictures, the company behind Hollyoaks and Grange Hill, who both “vigorously deny� the claims.
The programme told the story of a 40-something housewife, unsuccessfully coping after find-ing out her husband of 20 years has been cheating. It was filmed at Lime’s Childwall studio and locations in Liverpool, Southport, Blundellsands, Crosby, Formby and Knowsley.
In a statement on behalf of Ms Walsh-Smith, lawyers Bates, Wells and Braithwaite explained: “Following the broadcast of ITV1’s pilot episode of its new comedy drama Bonkers, Miss Walsh-Smith instructed us to act for her with regard to apparent breach of copyright.
“Miss Walsh-Smith wrote the stage play Bonkers in 1987 and it was produced and toured outside London, appearing at various venues.�
Last night Lime Pictures, ITV and Sally Wainwright, the writer behind At Home With the Braith-waites, as well as work on Emm-erdale and Coronation Street and an episode of The Canterbury Tales, denied the claims.
A Lime Pictures spokesperson said they “refute entirely the claim that the TV series Bonkers in any way breaches copyright in the play and we will be defending the claims vigorously�.
Miss Walsh-Smith, who now lives in New York, said: “As I was playwright, producer and star of Bonkers I broke professional grounds, particularly at such a young age and caused a huge stir. I was the talk of the town and the Writers Guild. It would have been impossible for Wainwright to not hear about the play and me.
“If Bonkers can be stolen, who’s to say that my other plays won’t be? Episode one was basically my play but poorly written. Everything from the title and the premise to the storyline and the characterisation was stolen from me. I am seriously considering suing for damages to my professional reputation as well as copyright infringements. Sally Wainwright really is bonkers to think she can get away with this.�