THE new BBC Trust is being asked to investigate if the corporation is giving undue promotion to Andrew Lloyd Webber and his productions.

BBC1 is currently screening the talent show Any Dream Will Do, where judges including Denise Van Outen help to find leads for a new staging of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which opens in July in the West End. It follows last year’s How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? which found Connie Fisher to star in the impresario’s revival of The Sound of Music.

However, some West End producers have written to Peter Fincham, controller of BBC1, complaining that his programme is “unfairly promoting” Lloyd Webber, his productions, his theatre and his ticket agency.

Lloyd Webber himself takes part in the BBC1 show. He composed Joseph and will put the production in one of his own theatres. He also owns the agency, See, which will sell the tickets.

“This is product placement on behalf of Lloyd Webber,” said one of the producers who wrote to Fincham. “I asked if the BBC had looked for or considered other musicals which were not connected with Lloyd Webber.”

Fincham said: “The choice of the show had been through detailed editorial scrutiny.”

But John Whittingdale, the Tory MP who is chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport select committee, said: “I am seeing the new chairman of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons, this coming week and I will be raising this matter of the link with Lloyd Webber with him for his trust to consider.”

There is also concern that three of the 12 finalists in the BBC show are not talented amateurs, but professionals. “I’m pretty sure that the public thinks these people were meant to be good amateurs and this was the point of the talent show,” said Whittingdale.

Lee Mead was in the West End last year in Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. He was also Pharaoh in a regional tour of Joseph, which was produced by Bill Kenwright, who is now one of the judges on the BBC1 show. Daniel Boys has already appeared in West End productions of Grease and Rent, while Johndeep More is also a professional actor with an agent. On last Saturday’s Any Dream Will Do, the professional backgrounds of the three were finally announced on air.

Yesterday a spokesman on behalf of Lloyd Webber said: “Andrew does this because he loves musical theatre and encouraging youngsters. Joseph doesn’t need a TV show to make it work in the West End.

“Andrew could also have taken this talent show to ITV instead for more money and a share of the profit from the telephone calls.”

ITV has its own talent show to find a boy and girl to play Danny and Sandy in a West End revival of Grease.

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