BBC receives record fine from Ofcom

The BBC announced today that it had received a record £400,000 fine from TV regulator Ofcom for "unfair conduct of viewer and listener competitions".

Amongst the shows that have contributed to this fine are Comic Relief 2007, and Russell Brand's BBC 6Music show.

As was reported last year, Comic Relief featured a section of the show in which viewers phoning into a competition were told that they could win prizes belonging to a famous couple. The first two callers gave the incorrect answer and, as there were no other callers to hand, a member of the production team posed as the third caller and successfully answered the question. Ofcom fined the BBC £45,000 for this breach in viewer trust.

Meanwhile stand-up comic Russell Brand asked viewers to phone into a competition on his radio show, despite the fact that the show was pre-recorded. The BBC has declined to comment on whether or not Brand knew that he had broken the rules. It was fined £17,500 for this incident.

Other programmes fined include Liz Kershaw's BBC 6Music show (£115,000), Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show (£75,000), BBC kids' TV series Tmi (£50,000), Sport Relief (£45,000), Children in Need (£35,000) and Clare McDonnell's show on 6Music (£17,500).

Ofcom commented on the seriousness of the offences saying; "In each of these cases the BBC deceived its audience by faking winners of competitions and deliberately conducting competitions unfairly."

The BBC accepted the findings saying: "We have taken these issues extremely seriously from the outset, apologising to our audiences and putting in place an unprecedented action plan to tackle the issues raised."

This BBC fine is the latest in a long spate of controversies concerning phone-in competitions. Since the revelations last year, The British Comedy Awards, Blue Peter and Richard and Judy are amongst a string of programmes to have been found guilty of editorial lapses. The scandals have rocked the industry and resulted in such action as the cancellation of last year's British Comedy Awards TV broadcast. Ofcom have now issued over £11 million in fines.