'Scarred' reality show survivors queue to sue TV companies

They wormed their way on to the guest lists of the swankiest parties, quaffed the finest bubbly, and hobnobbed with some of Hollywood's biggest stars. For months after they finally disappeared from our screens, their ubiquitous images lingered on magazine covers and newspaper stands.

But now, a handful of former reality TV contestants have decided that, for them, the party is finally over.

In an act of rebellion against the shows that rocketed them to a Warholian "15 minutes of fame", they have consulted lawyers about suing over the "emotional scarring they have suffered" as a result.

Mark Stephens, a libel solicitor, has been approached by "between seven and nine" reality show participants, including at least five ex-Big Brother housemates, who believe their career prospects and personal lives have been blighted by "selective editing" of their televised antics. He says they have been left "damaged" and prone to paranoia and depression.

Mr Stephens is not alone. Korieh Duodu, a barrister, has also been approached following his recent success in winning £16,000 libel damages for the former Castaway participant Ron Copsey.

The High Court test case involving Mr Copsey ruled that his reputation was harmed by the BBC and the programme's producers, Lion TV, by the editing of a scene that appeared to show him throwing a chair at another participant.

Mr Stephens, of the Londonfirm Finers Stephens Innocent, says the contestants he has spoken to may have strong cases. "It all started when one of them arrived on my doorstep. Soon afterwards, the rest poured in. It's clear to me they've all been damaged." Heconfirmed most were from the first and second series of Big Brother. There was also at least one each from Castaway and ITV'sSurvivor.

Josh Rafter, from last year's Big Brother, who has been approached by others keen to pursue their grievances via the courts, lends weight to the view that further legal action is on the horizon. Criticising the lack of "after care" for housemates, he said: "It's been an emotional roller-coaster for all of us – though I haven't gone down that route myself."

A former Big Brother insider backed his view of the show's "neglect", saying: "There was a cavalier attitude towards theparticipants [in the first series]. They wanted to milk the cash cow for all it was worth. Adverts were written around housemates before they'd even come out. Darren did a Kentucky Fried Chicken ad, and Claire did one for Playtex bras – each were paid £5,000."

"Nasty" Nick Bateman, whose career after Big Brother blossomed into journalism, TV and panto, says he has also been informed about likely actions. "Some people have found, on coming out, that no one wants to give them a media career but when they go to a normal job agency they're laughed at and told, 'what are you doing here? You're a celebrity'."

Keith Woodhams was employed by the production company which makes Big Brother, Endemol, to shepherd outgoing housemates in to press conferences and help them back into the outside world. "I'm only surprised it's taken so long for them to look back and say 'on the whole, it was not a particularly enriching experience'," he said.

Not all reality show alumni are so sympathetic. Andy Davidson, whose on-screen wooing of housemate Melanie Hill, during the first Big Brother series, provided one of the show's main talking points, said: "They are just being wimps. They should get on with it. It's history now."

An Endemol spokesman said: "We take more care than any other reality programmes [over] after care. All the contestants are assessed by psychiatrists to ensure they're mentally robust." Responding to the charge that contestants were "typecast" by the editing process, he said: "Big Brother is the only show on TV that displays its rushes, in terms of the live-streaming on the internet."