Kevin Spacey today accused the BBC of "crossing the line" by unfairly promoting West End musicals at the expense of other theatre productions with its talent show programmes.

The Hollywood star and Old Vic artistic director said that series such as Any Dream Will Do and I'd Do Anything constitute "a 13-week promotion for a musical".

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Spacey added: "You are not a commercial broadcaster, and I thought that was crossing the line. Where's our 13-week programme? I have spoken to your chairman but he has yet to get back to me."

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria and Any Dream Will Do involve scouring the country for hopefuls to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals.

The corporation's most recent show, I'd Do Anything, attempts to find actors to star as Nancy and Oliver in Lionel Bart's Oliver Twist. The winning candidates will star alongside Rowan Atkinson, who will play the part of Fagin.

Spacey said it was "great" that people were interested in the theatre, but said that the talent shows had been "unfair" by promoting the programmes and were guilty of crossing the line.

He suggested that the BBC screen shows to help kids to find their own self-esteem and ability to cooperate, but added: "These are interesting ideas, now they're not sexy so maybe they don't want to put them on air."

The BBC replied that its shows were not "unduly promotional" and added that it had no commercial interest in the programmes for which auditions were screened.

However, Mr Spacey's view was this afternoon backed by another influential artistic director, Nicholas Kent, of the Tricycle Theatre in North London, who also launched an attack on television in general for dumbing down.

"Undoubtedly, these programmes do have a big effect on the box office - How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria had a huge effect on the box office, for example," he said. "There is a contention that they are all Andrew Lloyd Webber shows, or he is connected with them.

"I would never be against getting bigger audiences for theatre, but it seems to be the big musicals that have benefitted from this, and it does not represent the theatre in general, in any way."

In a swipe at the quality of the programme, he added: "There appears to be a nod at the theatre going on, but effectively this type of programme is just an X-Factor in the theatre. It makes no cultural contribution at all. It's not just the BBC and Channel 4 - everyone is going downmarket with reality TV."

One major London show, which sought out a reality television contract specifically to boost its audience figures, responded to Spacey's claims by saying that such a move was "fair game" and part of modern life.

Spamalot, the Monty Python spin-off in the West End, last year won a contract with Sweden's channel TV3 to find an actress to play the part of the Lady of the Lake.

Since Nina Soderquist won the contract and started performing at the Palace Theatre on February 12, bosses say that sales for Spamalot have gone from 10th to 1st among Swedish tourists coming to London.

"TV has fallen in love with this format at the moment, so it's up for grabs. It's the reality of the modern world, and it is fair game for us to look at ways of taking advantage of it," Crispin Ollington, who pioneered the move as Spamalot's marketing director, said.

Also in his interview today, Mr Spacey also said he would like to see the return of Play for Today on the BBC, which screened more than 300 plays between 1970 and 1984, in order to get people more interested in theatre. Spacey is currently starring in Speed-the-Plow, a play by David Mamet, at the Old Vic.

A BBC spokesman denied claims of unfairness, saying: "Even though we are casting specific parts, other West End shows are always reflected in the series.

"The BBC doesn't have any commercial interest in the subsequent West End production, or any related spin offs such as touring productions."

He added: "We're fully aware of the need to ensure that ‘I’d Do Anything’ is not unduly promotional and will continue to take steps to ensure that the programme meets with all BBC editorial guidelines as with previous productions."

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