BT's Peter Jones gremlins allowed to stay

A BT advert which viewers complained was giving their children nightmares has been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The commercial showed Dragons' Den star Peter Jones being harangued by gremlins as he faced problems with his computer.

Eleven people complained, saying young children had been frightened and some had nightmares as a result. It was shown at any time of day, but not aired around programmes aimed at children.

The ASA acknowledged the "pointy teeth, green-grey skin, large ears and goblinesque features of the Gremlins might scare very young children".

"However, we noted that the Gremlins in the ad were shown delighting in the creation of chaos in Peter Jones's office rather than revelling in menacing him in any way," said a ruling. "We considered that, overall, the Gremlins' antics were likely to be seen as comedic rather than threatening."