Melanie Brown in legal battle over Australian TV role

Former Spice Girls star Melanie Brown has been caught up in an ugly legal spat over her latest Australian TV job after her former bosses won an injunction banning her from appearing on a rival network.

The singer recently gave up her role on the panel of the Aussie version of The X Factor and signed up as a judge on Australia's Got Talent.

However, bosses at the Seven Network, which airs The X Factor, were unhappy with Brown's move to the rival Channel Nine network, citing exclusive contractual arrangements with the star, and took their complaint to court.

The case was heard at the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and on Wednesday, and Brown was served with a temporary injunction banning her from appearing on any Australian TV network other than Seven until January 2014.

A spokesperson for Channel Nine says, "We're really excited to be working with Mel B on the bigger and better Australia's Got Talent. We're surprised Seven has taken this action."

Auditions are currently underway for the new series of Australia's Got Talent, and TV bosses have announced comedienne Dawn French will be joining Brown on the panel.

Brown also recently began work on the U.S. version of the show, America's Got Talent, replacing Sharon Osbourne.

The case will return to court on 25 March.