The Stage

Wainwright sued over ITV1 comedy

Published Thursday 2 August 2007 at 12:35 by Matthew Hemley

Exclusive: At Home with the Braithwaites writer Sally Wainwright is being sued over claims she copied an existing stage play to create ITV1 series Bonkers.

The claim has been made by playwright Tricia Walsh-Smith, who alleges the characterisations, premise and title of the ITV1 series were copied from a stage play she wrote in 1987.

Walsh-Smith has instructed barrister John Baldwin, the man who won a recent court case for The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown, to file a claim in the High Court of Justice against Wainwright for breach of copyright.

In a statement on behalf of Ms Walsh-Smith, her lawyers Bates, Wells and Braithwaite said: “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.”

Walsh-Smith said her play Bonkers was first premiered in London in 1987 and toured to various venues across the UK.

The claims have been denied by ITV, Wainwright and Lime Pictures, which made the television production.

A statement by Lime Pictures said: “Sally Wainwright, Lime Pictures and ITV 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.”