A variation of the lonely hearts column has drawn a cult following and spawned not one, but two films.

I Saw You, a column that appears separately in Venue and The List, magazines published in Bristol and central Scotland, plays on readers' fascination for being fancied. Each advert begins with the same three words and describes a situation that only two people could recognise. "I saw you on the No 7 bus, me reading Tolstoy, you with high heels," a typical ad might read.

Two sets of film-makers have latched on to the idea, giving their productions the same title: I Saw You.

Christine Langan, executive producer of one film, said yesterday that personal columns were an ideal starting point for a television drama, summing up "the coincidental nature of the people you encounter who can form important relationships in your life".

I Saw You adverts were wittier than ordinary personals, she said, but "there is still something of baring your soul, no matter how you dress it up."

John Dingwall, co-writer of the other film, said he had had no idea that another drama had been made. His version, made for Scottish Television with help from Scottish Screen, is about the darker side of I Saw You. A woman becomes aware that a daily ad is being placed by someone aware of her every move.

Langan's film, written by David Nicholls and starring Fay Ripley, will be shown on ITV on May 22. The second, co-written by Euan Morrison, will be screened in Scotland later this year.

The thorny issue of the identical titles is yet to be settled. While Langan's version is to be screened first, Dingwall's was written earlier.