Richard & Judy 'phone-in' problems continue

Following the apology from Richard and Judy on their Channel 4 programme about the problem with phone lines used on the show, a row has broken out between the service provider and the show's producer.

Channel 4 is currently conducting an investigation into the issue, following claims that participants had been encouraged to phone-in to take part in the quiz, even though they no longer had any chance of winning.

Cactus TV's joint managing director Amanda Ross has apologised for the way the competition had been run but has said the company, "relied on Eckoh for the picking of the winners."

"They were instructed to ensure all callers were included for consideration in compliance with the ICSTIS Code of Practice," said Ross. "When they told us in January they were not doing this we insisted they rectify the situation. We understood they were taking all necessary steps to ensure that the competition was run fairly and properly."

Eckoh's group finance director Adam Moloney, said in response: "When it came to the attention of our staff that in their view the 'You Say We Pay' service on the Richard and Judy show was not operating in a fully compliant way we raised this with Cactus. We also proposed changes to the way the competition operates in writing to Cactus. The proper steps were taken by the staff to try to correct the problem."