Gay Scandal BBC again

While the BBC are using the vehicle of comedy to raise money for Children In Need, an incident on Saturday left many viewers feeling unamused and less than charitable. Viewers have complained to Ofcom regarding presenter Patrick Kielty, who made a homophobic comment to one of the celebrity contestants on the live Saturday night screening of Comic Relief Does Fame Academy.

Kielty called Radio 1 DJ Colin Murray a "big gayer" following his performance on the BBC1 singing talent show when the Belfast-born jock appeared to be misty eyed . Murray who took over the late John Peel's slot is not gay.

Ofcom said it had received three complaints from Fame Academy viewers saying they thought the comment was homophobic and offensive while the BBC is understood to have received around a dozen.

The show was watched by 5.9 million viewers in its pre-watershed slot of 7.40pm.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "We received a small number of complaints following Patrick's comment on the show Saturday night.

"Patrick's comment was spur of the moment, unscripted and not intended to cause offence. However, we have reminded Patrick to be more careful during the remaining live shows."

It's not the first time the BBC have been in hot water for anti-gay comments made by presenters. Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles sparked a national debate after calling a ringtone "gay".

Disappointingly, he was cleared by the BBC after they said he was using the word to mean "rubbish". Critics were understandably unimpressed that equating "rubbish" with "gay" made the slur acceptable.

Gay rights campaigners condemned the decision, with Stonewall naming Moyles as "bully of the year" for the remark