Writer's claims 'are unfounded'

They say his claims about the new show – which features a cast of immigrants staying a London guest house and has been billed as a ‘multicultural Rising Damp’ – are ‘unfounded’.

Miller claims he approached the corporation with a similar idea two years ago under the working title Settle Down, but that after he was paid to produce a treatment, plans for a pilot were abandoned.

So he was surprised to learn that Men Behaving Badly creator Simon Nye had been commissioned to pen In My Country, whose stars will include Stephen K Amos and Omid Djalili.

Writing on the Chortle forums, Miller said: ‘Even though I thought up the idea of lots of immigrants from various parts of the world living in a guest house in London and exploring ideas of identity and what it means to be British… I personally don't think it's that fantastic an idea!

‘I don't actually expect this sitcom to make millions as it is format-sold around the world. What I do expect is for the BBC to acknowledge that I gave them this semi-OK idea for a sitcom.

‘Someone could well have independently come up with the same set of elements for a sitcom format as mine. I'm not claiming to be a sitcom ideas supergenius here. The difference however is that the staff producer at the BBC I took those ideas to three years ago just happens to be the producer of the oh-so similar sitcom In My Country.’

However the BBC insisted that both projects were developed in parallel, that neither writer knew about the other project and that similarities were ‘nothing more than coincidence’.

A spokeswoman said: ‘Having fully investigated Jim Miller's claims and consulted our lawyers, the BBC is certain that it has not used any intellectual property owned by Jim Miller and that he has no legitimate claim to the format of In My Country.

‘It is unfortunate that Jim Miller has made these serious and unfounded allegations against the BBC and its staff but we very much hope that this unhappy episode will now come to a close.’

Published: 30 Oct 2008