The BBC Trust is being asked to investigate if the BBC is promoting Andrew Lloyd Webber and his productions unfairly.
Some West End producers have written to Peter Fincham, controller of BBC One, complaining that Any Dream Will Do is “unfairly promoting” Lloyd Webber, his productions, his theatre and his ticket agency.
Andrew Lloyd Webber composed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and will put the show on in a theatre he owns. 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 Mr Fincham.
Three of the original twelve Joseph candidates were professionals and not the talented amateurs many viewers believe.
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, one of the four judges on the show. Daniel Boys has appeared in West End productions of Grease and Rent.
Thus it can be argued that the BBC is being suckered into giving Andrew Lloyd Webber weeks of free publicity for a show featuring professional singers he already had access to through the normal channels.