Rivers 'apologises' for dropping f-bomb

Warning: This article contains language and/or sexual references that younger readers are advised to avoid.

Joan Rivers has responded to the controversy surrounding her use of expletives live on air during yesterday's Loose Women.

The comedienne sparked complaints after she described actor Russell Crowe as a "piece of f**king s**t" on the ITV1 show shortly after 1pm.

Presenter Jackie Brambles apologised to viewers but Rivers - who had expected the expletive to be bleeped - was asked to leave the panel during a commercial break.

The 75-year-old told the Daily Mail: "Yes, I swore, and I'm so f***king sorry. No one told me the TV show Loose Women was a reality show and that I would be voted off.

"It's funny - off stage, I hardly ever use profanity. My favourite four-letter word is shop."

She added that she was "thrilled" to have been removed from a show for the first time in her career, saying: "I’m certainly not mellowing with age. Viewers, people have heard the word f***.

"People have heard it in Sex And The City, it’s such a common word."