Discovery Real Time rapped over 'Wife Swap' swearing

Discovery Real Time has been rapped by Ofcom after a complainant alerted the regulator to the use of the word "f**king" in Wife Swap.

In the opening scenes of the programme aired at 2pm on May 28, offensive language used by the participating couples while they argued was bleeped out by the producers.

However, around six minutes into the episode, a woman said: "Each bed has to be made to perfection and each one takes a good seven to eight minutes? Seven to eight minutes to make a f**king bed?"

Discovery Real Time explained that the offensive language had occurred during the episode "due to human error". The broadcaster said that it had improved its internal processes with regards to any material containing offensive language, including measures so that all future episodes of Wife Swap scheduled pre-watershed will be reviewed to ensure bad language has been removed.

There will be "second level checking" for material that includes high levels of offensive language, along with additional training sessions for staff on extra vigilance in checking processes.

Ofcom welcomed the actions taken by Discovery after it became aware of the offensive language in Wife Swap, but noted that there have been other similar breaches by the broadcaster since 2008.

"Ofcom notes that the broadcast content for all Discovery services is complied on a central basis. Since 2008, three breaches have been recorded in relation to programmes broadcast on Discovery network services, all of which had resulted from human error," said the regulator.

"As a result, in 2009, Ofcom required the licensee to attend a meeting to discuss its compliance procedures. Broadcasters are under a clear duty to ensure that robust procedures are in place to ensure full compliance with the Code. Ofcom does not expect any recurrence of these issues on Discovery services."

Originally produced by the now Zodiak Entertainment-owned UK production company RDF Media, reality show Wife Swap was first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2003 to 2009.

Last August, Channel 4 denied that Wife Swap exploited its contestants, arguing that participants were made fully aware of the show's rules prior to filming.