Swearing rap for O'Grady

An interview with Charles Dance on the Paul O'Grady Show sparked criticism after the actor swore on the programme.

Media watchdog Ofcom investigated after Dance uttered the expletives on the live former ITV show.

The production team pre-records guests who are likely to use strong language, but had thought it was unlikely that Dance, 59, would swear. They had made it clear that there should be no strong language on the live show.

But when the Bleak House star said "sh*t", O'Grady, who has since been poached by Channel 4, made it clear to him that he should not swear.

The Bleak House star appeared to accept that he had made an error, but inexplicably, went on to swear again on the show in December, saying "w*nk*ng" and "b*itch".

At that point, the production team asked O'Grady to complete the interview as soon as possible.

ITV apologised over the incident, and Ofcom said the swearing was "unacceptable" for broadcast at 5pm.

But it said that ITV took "reasonable precautions" and its efforts were generally successful.

Ofcom said that digital channel Bravo was in breach of the broadcasting code for screening a US reality show which featured a number of references to a dietary supplement.

The show also included prominent references to one brand of deodorant.
Ofcom said the comments about the dietary supplement were not editorially justified and breached the broadcasting code.

Bravo was not involved in any of the commercial deals involving the brand.