Aspiring novelists to get their own reality TV show

First it was wannabe pop stars, then ranting celebrity chefs.

Now would-be writers are to get the reality TV show treatment in an attempt to find a new Dan Brown or JK Rowling.

Aspiring authors will be invited to pitch their ideas for a blockbuster novel to a panel of judges headed by Tony Cowell, big brother of The X Factor's Simon Cowell.

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Bestseller is billed as a literary version of Dragons' Den, the BBC show in which budding entrepreneurs try to persuade investors to back them.

Winners will receive a six-figure advance and a deal with a major publisher in Britain and America. Contestants who survive the first round will be 'mentored' by a line-up of authors expected to include Jackie Collins and Jeffrey Archer.

"We want people of different backgrounds and ages to take part' said Tony Cowell. "It could be a 20-year-old student who adores Harry Potter or an 80-year-old lady who wants to be the new Agatha Christie.

Viewers will see the mechanics of writing a book - how people come up with a crazy idea and make it work against all the odds.

"The only conditions are that they must have a completed manuscript and never have been published before. Some will have had hundreds of rejections. But we want to give them another chance."

Tony Cowell, 56, is a former journalist and literary agent who has written several books, including a compilation of his brother's most withering put-downs.

Critics may accuse Bestseller of dumbing down the world of literature. But Tony Cowell hopes the show will make a genuine contribution towards uncovering new talent. He says: "There are far fewer platforms now for first-time writers, and publishers don't take unsolicited manuscripts any more. Finding an agent is extremely difficult. It's harder to get your synopsis or first chapter read than it is to send your CD to my brother."

The six-part series is expected to be aired on ITV next year.