Exclusive: Formats powerhouse Banijay, which produces and sells the likes of Big Brother, Survivor and Total Wipeout around the world, has lashed out at social media and YouTube copycat versions of some of TV’s biggest hits.

Lucas Green, the French-headquartered outfit’s Chief Content Officer of Operations, branded copycats “an intrinsic issue facing the industry that we need to have a conversation about,” as they are “hurting the creative economy.”

In recent years, Green said a wealth of copycat examples have sprung up on the likes of YouTube, TikTok and Twitch from a nascent army of social media personalities, which are “very hard” for their original creators to challenge from a legal standpoint. Green declined to point the finger at specific examples but said he is highlighting the issue in the round, and he is now keen to discuss with fellow industry figures, UK trade body Pact and the new government post election.