'Saturday Kitchen' under investigation

Director of BBC Vision Jana Bennett is to prepare a report for director general Mark Thompson over the phone-in controversy surrounding cookery show Saturday Kitchen.

It follows claims that host James Martin asked viewers during a show broadcast on February 10 call in on a premium-rate 25p per call number, if they wanted to take part in the following week's show, with the actual episode filmed just minutes later.

Premium-rate phone line regulator Icstis has already said it will conduct its own investigation into the matter.

Bennett said: "Whilst the language was not clear enough, there can be no question of the public being cheated. As soon as this came to light, we took immediate action with the independent producer to ensure all future programmes would be live."

"I will be looking at the implications of what happened and I am preparing a report for the Director-General. In the meantime, the BBC welcomes the ICSTIS investigation, and the opportunity to discuss the matter with them in full."

The BBC has said all callers who rang to appear in a show did have a genuine chance of appearing in a future programme, and neither the BBC nor the programme makers, Cactus TV, have profited from the phone lines. Cactus has also said it will donate any residual money to Comic Relief.