BBC apologises over Jonathan Ross guest

The BBC has apologised after viewers complained about distasteful jokes made by a guest on last week's Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.

350 viewers complained after taking offence at jokes made by spoof psychic Shirley Ghostman, played by Marc Wootton, about such topics as Jews and cancer.

The host's description of guest Nicole Kidman's mother as 'a bitch' also drew a few complaints.

The broadcaster stated: "We are sorry that many viewers felt remarks made by Shirley Ghostman were unacceptable.

It added that the topics covered by Ghostman's jokes reflected the extreme nature of subjects in 'genuine' psychic shows, saying: "In certain cases the material may cause offence because of its extremes.

"Most viewers are aware of the style and nature of Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, but we realise the comments were clearly more extreme to some viewers for whom the spoof nature of this character was perhaps unclear.

"It was certainly not our intention to cause such offence."