RTÉ RADIO managing director Clare Duignan has told the High Court she was aware of plans for the TV show Celebrity Bainisteoirprior to a man approaching RTÉ with an idea for such a programme.
Ms Duignan was giving evidence in an action in which Patrick Kinsella has sued RTÉ and others, claiming he had the original idea for the show and that RTÉ had stolen his idea.
Mr Kinsella, Callowhill, Newtown, Wicklow, has brought proceedings against RTÉ; an RTÉ commissioning editor, Gráinne McAleer; RTÉ producer Alice O'Sullivan; and journalist Fiona Looney, who is credited with being the creator of Celebrity Bainisteoir.
Yesterday, Ms Duignan told Mr Justice George Birmingham the Celebrity Bainisteoirproject was first submitted to RTÉ in 2004, when she was director of RTÉ television programmes, but she was not aware of it at that time because it had been turned down.
The project was looked at again in 2005 and she became aware of it because it required funding from December that year, she said.
She understood the project came before the station with the title Celebrity Bainisteoirand members of her staff were actively engaged with the programme from August 2005.
Approval was given for €20,000 towards development work on the project and they were shooting some video to see how it worked in 2006 before agreeing to a decision to put the project into production, she said.
Cross-examined by Mr Kinsella, who is conducting his own case, Ms Duignan said she had an awareness of Celebrity Bainisteoirthat predated Mr Kinsella's approach.
Mr Kinsella, who described himself as a businessman with 28 years’ experience as a scriptwriter and a football enthusiast, said he approached RTÉ with the idea for a programme to be called “Top Coach”, “Top Manager”, or “Top Team” in August 2007 and was told his idea was a “non-runner”.
A former managing director of RTÉ, Cathal Goan, is expected to give evidence later today.