PBS has been forced to pull a line of jewellery inspired by Downton Abbey.
The historical drama, which airs on ITV in the UK, has proved popular for public broadcaster PBS in the US and led the network to sell accessories such as a "Lady Mary knotted pearl necklace and earring set" ($184.99) and a "Lady Sybil black pearl bracelet and earring set" ($159.99) on its merchandise site ShopPBS.org.
However, the 38-item collection was removed from the site on Tuesday after claims that Downton Abbey's UK producers Carnival Films were reportedly "horrified" by the sale of the unauthorised products, from which they received no profits.
"ShopPBS obtained jewellery from a number of third-party vendors and placed them within a collection of products dedicated to Downton Abbey," a PBS spokesperson told Today.com.
"An email from the business affairs office of NBC/Carnival was received requesting that we remove these items. PBS complied immediately and the products are no longer being offered."
A Carnival Films spokesperson insisted that the issue was easily resolved, saying: "There is no dispute, it was a mistake on PBS's part [to identify the jewellery with the show's characters].
"It was part of an ongoing conversation with PBS. It isn't a big issue. We didn't want viewers to think this was the jewellery that the characters wore."
