The Scheme: Bleak BBC documentary show postponed Pic: © BBC
A BBC fly on the wall series featuring families on a sprawling housing estate in Ayrshire has been halted because of legal action.
The Scheme, which first aired on BBC1 Scotland last Tuesday, was screened on TV this week but the next two episodes have been postponed due to a pending legal action.
Someone yet to be featured in the show, which focuses on six families living on Onthank estate in Kilmarnock, has been arrested forcing BBC chiefs to pull the plug.
The Scheme is described as "an observed documentary series following the dramatic and often emotional highs and lows of daily life for six different families all living in one large housing scheme in Kilmarnock".
The series producers gained intimate access to six families living on the estate over a year with the aim of capturing the highs and lows of life over the course of four episodes.
However, following the screening of the first episode, local officials have expressed concern over how the estate's reputation will be affected.
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A large scale regeneration effort is under way in the area and MSPs insist that while there are problems, it would be wrong to portray Onthank's residents as a group living entirely on the edge.
Local MSP Willie Coffey condemned the series saying it lacked balance.
He said: "The danger with programmes like this is that they give a misleading impression of an entire community. Featuring the chaotic lifestyles of one or two families might make for interesting TV but it does nothing to support the positive regeneration that has been going on in this community for the past few years.
"Local people are angry about this and how our community is being painted by these film makers."
A spokeswoman for BBC Scotland confirmed the postponement of the final two episodes of the show.
She said: "The remaining two episodes have been postponed as a person due to be featured in later episodes is the subject of a criminal prosecution.
"They will be shown at a later date."
Correction: An earlier version of this story carried an image of Johnstone, not Onthank. We apologise for the error.
