TalkSport trail was offensive, says Ofcom

TalkSport was wrong to use the phrase "mother-crushers" in a trailer for its breakfast show, Ofcom has ruled.

The advert, broadcast during Jon Gaunt's show during October, featured a woman's voice saying: "And here is the news, mother-crushers!"

One viewer who complained to the regulator said he thought it had said "mother-f***ers" and if it was not it "sounded so similar that it caused the same degree of offence".

Ofcom inspectors agreed. They said in their report released on Monday: "Ofcom listened to the trailer and the word complained about clearly sounded like 'mother-f***ers' and was therefore offensive.

"When heard in context, it is Ofcom’s opinion, that the use of 'mother-crushers' was intended to have the same or a very similar impact as the highly offensive term itself."

TalkSport told the regulator it had edited out the term after receiving a complaint despite feeling it was not offensive.

But, said Ofcom, it was still broadcast for at least five days and breached rule 2.3 of the broadcasting code about generally accepted standards.

"There was no justification in context for the use of this word," the regulator concluded.