Glossy BBC One drama McMafia has ended up at the centre of a heated copyright dispute which appears to be on its way to the High Court.
The news comes after writer Will Varvill launched a legal complaint against the show in October last year, amid concerns that the BBC had breached his copyright and confidentiality. In recent weeks, the claim has been escalated to the High Court.
Mr Varvill has said that McMafia – a drama charting the exploits of a Cambridge-educated banker named Alex, who is also the son of a Russian mobster – borrows largely from material used in his own 2007 short film, Londongrad.
The 35-year-old writer-director has said that, in the years after his film was made, he had been working on an idea to transform it into a TV drama series.
He added that the central concept was “shared on a confidential basis” with the BBC in 2009, 2012 and 2013 during discussions with agent Nick Marston.
Later, his plans to expand his short film into a TV series were scrapped, after it emerged that the BBC had commissioned McMafia – a gangster-themed drama which explored “similar territory” to Londongrad.
Around this time, the disgruntled writer discovered that BBC producers he claims had previously taken “an active interest in Londongrad” had begun working on McMafia.
“The BBC knew it had already seen a project with an identical premise,” he said.
“That’s why I’m going to the High Court.”
In response to the concerns raised, the BBC has denied any breach of confidence or copyright infringement.
A spokesperson has stressed that “McMafia is an original series created by Hossein Amini.”
They added that the show’s storyline has largely been “inspired by Misha Glenny’s 2008 book of the same name.”