Kevin Spacey was backed by the artistic community yesterday after he accused the BBC of promoting Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End musicals at the expense of other theatre.

The actor and artistic director of the Old Vic said that the BBC had “crossed the line” with its shows on Saturday nights to find stars for productions written or produced by Lord Lloyd-Webber. Criticising the BBC One talent shows that made stars of Connie Fisher and Lee Mead in The Sound of Music and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Spacey told the Radio 4 Today programme: “I felt that How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? was essentially a 13-week promotion for a musical, on a public service broadcaster.

“You are not a commercial broadcaster and I thought that was crossing the line. Where’s our 13-week programme when we put a play on?”

Spacey, 48, spoke after the first vote by the viewing audience of I’d Do Anything in the BBC One contest for an actress to play Nancy in a new West End production of Lionel Bart’s Oliver!.

Although Oliver! will be produced by Cameron Mackintosh, Lord Lloyd-Webber is one of the show’s judges and owns the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where the show will be staged.

Spacey suggested that the BBC run a series in which youngsters learnt to create a theatrical work, but doubted that it would be seen as a “sexy” idea. A revival of Play for Today, which ran until 1984, showing pioneering work, was needed to inspire passion for theatre among youngsters, he said.

The BBC Trust is considering official complaints from Spacey and Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat Culture spokesman, over “undue prominence” in its West End talent shows.

Spacey was backed by Nicolas Kent, artistic director of the Tricycle Theatre. He told The Times: “I would never be against getting bigger audiences for theatre, but it seems to be the big musicals that have benefited from this, and it does not represent the theatre in general. This type of programme makes no cultural contribution.”

The BBC said: “We are nurturing new talent through our writers’ academy, while BBC Four is commissioning new writers for single dramas in a similar manner to Play for Today.”

The BBC did not have any “commercial interest” in the West End productions but was “fully aware of the need to ensure that I'd Do Anything was not ‘unduly promotional’ ”.

Explore Stage

• Theatre

• Comedy

• Opera

• Dance

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010