MUMBAI: The Brit creator of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?, Paul Smith of Celador International, sued the Walt Disney Co. on Thursday accusing it of cutting him out of the profits of the American version of the hit game show.

Smith was quoted in a media report saying that Disney and subsidiaries ABC and Buena Vista Television (BVT) manipulated costs to keep the series "at prices well below the fair market value."

A media report quoted the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit saying that Celador accused Disney of unlawfully interfering in its joint venture with ABC and BVT by pressuring its subsidiaries to hike production costs and refusing to renegotiate licensing fees for better terms.

Under a JV with Celador, Buena Vista produced Millionaire with host Regis Philbin, and the ABC network aired it starting on 16 August 1999, for 13 consecutive nights.

Smith, it is reported, is suing all three (Disney, ABC and BVT) firms for undisclosed damages