Ron was seen by viewers apparently throwing a chair at Julie Lowe

Ms Shamesh has accused the BBC and programme-makers Lion Television of "fabricating" the incident.

She said the corporation should receive a formal claim within the next few days.

Copsey, a 45-year-old psychotherapist, was one of 36 contestants who volunteered to spend a year living on the remote Scottish island of Taransay.

In total seven left before the year was up.

Bias

At the time of his premature departure Copsey said he had been represented, and that broadcasts were biased towards the other contestants.

Ms Shamesh said: "It arises from one of the episodes of Castaway where footage was fabricated in order to portray Ron Copsey as a violent man who had assaulted a fellow Castaway by throwing a chair at her.

"Ron Copsey certainly did not throw a chair at Julie Lowe, even though it was billed as such.

"Castaway was supposed to be a true and honest account of events on Taransay and this footage was wholly misrepresentative and has adversely affected our client."

Fellow castaways are thought to have already been interviewed about what happened during the disputed incident.

A spokeswoman for Lion Television said it had not yet received a writ and a BBC spokesman said he was unable to comment because nothing had arrived.