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Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards has commented outside a media conference in Oxford today about the row surrounding Celebrity Big Brother.
Richards said that he wouldn't conduct a "Kangaroo court" over the show, or give his own my private views on the topic. He said that Ofcom was taking it "very seriously", adding "We are going to assess the response we get from Channel 4 and make an assessment whether Channel 4 has been in breach of the broadcasting code."
Channel 4's chairman Luke Johnson spoke on radio's Today programme this morning, but would not comment any further than referring to the broadcaster's previous statement on the issue. Chief executive Andy Duncan will speak at the Oxford media conference later.
Last night's hour-long show pulled in an average 5.1 million and a 21.4% share at 9pm, the third highest audience of the current series, growing its audience from 4.5 million and a 20.4% share to 5.7 million and 23.9% in the final 15-minutes.
Shilpa Shetty herself said in the programme shown last night that she felt she was being targeted because of her accent and discussed whether it was "racism" with fellow housemate Cleo Rocos, with Shetty saying she thought it was.
The number of complaints to Ofcom has now gone over 27,000, with some viewers saying they cannot get through to the regulator as the lines are busy or the website is overloaded with people trying to log onto complain. A note on Ofcom's website has acknowledged people may experience delays if they wish to complain.
The Chancellor Gordon Brown re-iterated his views this morning, while on his relationship-building trip in Indian, that nothing should interfere with Britain's reputation for "fairness and tolerance."
