Storm Over Disney’s Nude Tale

A year ago the members of a Women's Institute club in the Yorkshire Dales were more likely to be swapping jam recipes than being imbroiled in legal disputes. However the bonhomie that usually characterises the society has evaporated since the women came to fame by taking their clothes off for a charity calendar. The decision by the Rylstone and District Women's Institute to strip for a tasteful nude calendar in a bid to raise money for a leukemia charity turned the women into instant celebrities and film companies fought hard to win the chance to bring the story to the big screen. But now the society has been split by a decision to choose UK-based Harbour Pictures to film the story. Harbour, it's thought, will be backed financially by Buena Vista. So far so good, but five members of the society have turned down the Harbour Pictures offer in favour of a bid by comedian Victoria Wood which they say is more lucrative. Will the good women of rural Yorkshire come to blows over the promise of big screen fame? We'll keep you posted.