Reality-Show Exec Charged With Kidnapping

The director of a reality TV pilot has been arrested on kidnapping charges after allegedly trying to stop contestants from leaving the house where it was being filmed, ABC News reports. Four women fled the Pauper to Princess house and told neighbors to call the police. The women say they were held against their will and haven't been paid for the five weeks already spent filming.

The show—not picked up by any network— purported to transform young women from modest backgrounds. Police say they aren't sure what prompted the women to flee the house. "A couple of them told us they were in danger," a police officer said. "No physical violence had taken place, according to them. What spooked them, I don't know." (More reality TV stories.)