The producers of The Great British Bake Off are launching a hairdressing competition - eight years after forcing the BBC to ditch Hair for copying the baking show’s format.
Love Productions will launch The Big Blowout on E4 later this year, and are seeking “the next generation of super hairstylists” to take part. It comes after a huge row blew up in 2014 over the Hair, which was described as being “staggeringly similar” to GBBO.
It launched on BBC3 with Steve Jones and moved to BBC2 for its second run, with new host Katherine Ryan.
The independent production company claimed the BBC had nicked the format from GBBO and threatened to sue, hiring TV copyright specialist Jonathan Coad from law firm Lewis Silkin.
At the time, TV industry magazine Broadcast had described the show as a “Great British Bake Off-style series to unearth some of the UK’s most talented unqualified hairstylists”. It added: “In much the same style as GBBO, the contestants are likely to be set tasks testing their technical skills and ability to recreate classic looks.”
Despite BBC bosses arguing that MasterChef had originally devised the “three-challenge” format, the matter was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Hair, judged by royal hairdresser Denise McAdam and celebrity session stylist Alain Pichon, was never seen again.
One source at the time said: “The formats lawyer said it was the clearest cut case they’d seen of a format infringement.”
The row is said to have been the beginning of the end for Love Productions’ relationship with the BBC, having caused a “catastrophic breakdown”.
In 2016, The Great British Bake Off moved from BBC1 to Channel 4, where it has run for five series and been the station’s most popular show.
The Big Blowout, for E4, is seeking stylists who are “hungry for a new challenge” and want to test their skills. One insider said: “It is a brand new, unique format and different to anything that has gone before.”
