After Big Brother ... Reality Sperm Donors

Those who thought the latest series of Big Brother in the UK plumbed the depths of tackiness apparently haven't seen anything yet. The programme's inventor, John de Mol, was last night due to launch a new Dutch reality show in which a woman searches for a potential sperm donor.

In the show, men were due be screened by the potential mother so she could decide which was the most suitable to father her child by artificial insemination.

"The plan is that we visit potential donors and - of course on camera - decide which man is most suitable," said the 30-year old woman, identified only as Yessica, in an interview with De Telegraaf newspaper on Tuesday.

I Want a Child ... And Nothing Else! is one of five reality television ideas to be aired by Mr de Mol's new TV channel, Talpa, his first big venture since he made $1.4bn selling his production company Endemol in 2000.

The idea for the so-called "sperm show" was shelved in 2001 after a storm of protest that also led to questions in the Dutch parliament.

On Saturday, viewers will vote on which of the five pilot shows they want to be turned into a regular series.

Endemol also provoked controversy last year when it launched a German show in a similar vein, in which 12 contestants donated sperm and then watched them race towards an unfertilised egg. As well as laying claim to the title of Germany's most fertile man, the winner also received a red Porsche.