It is the case of the phantom audition for a TV3 show which the station said did not exist.

In an advertisement for an open casting session in Dublin city centre last week, a production company called Blarney Star Productions said it was seeking "guests for a brand new TV show beginning on TV3 this autumn".

Billing the show as Ireland's answer to the Jeremy Kyle show in the UK – where members of the public reveal their 'true life' stories in a provocative format – it told prospective auditionees: "If you're the quiet and retiring type, don't bother applying. We need entertaining, feisty, shameless individuals for our first group of three shows."

The programmes were due to begin filming in Dublin last week, with themes such as 'Get a job or get out'; 'My best friend is pregnant – tell me you're not the father'; and 'You can't see our child till you're off the drugs'.

"If you are effected (sic) by any of these topics and are willing to confront your family on national TV then we want to hear from you," the advertisement continued.

But mystery remains about the show itself. Despite several attempts to contact the number and email address supplied in the advertisement, which appeared on the gumtree.ie website, the Sunday Tribune received no reply.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for TV3 said the first it heard about the show was when it was contacted by this newspaper for comment.

"This is the first we have heard about the show, no production company has app­roached us about it," she said. "It might be that they are using the TV3 name to make a pilot, which they will try to sell on to us. That wouldn't be that unusual. But they should tell that to the people who are applying. People see TV3 and think it is being done with our knowledge."

Another possibility was that the show was being filmed as part of a 'spoof' comedy programme, although this could not be established at the time of going to print.