Norton warned after lesbian joke

Graham Norton's chatshow has been reprimanded by the BBC after a joke about lesbians.

The corporation upheld a viewer's complaint about an episode of the show broadcast in March.

Referring to a picture on a patent application, Norton said: "I don't know why they've got some strange lesbian to be the model."

Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones, who was a guest on the show, replied: "She may not be a lesbian, come on now."

Jones added that people should not be judged on their appearance and asked Norton: "What does a lesbian look like?"

"That," Norton answered, before saying: "Anyway, there's nothing wrong with being a lesbian."

The BBC said: "Although the initial references might have been inoffensive if considered on their own, they prompted an exchange with one of the programme's guests which gave the references the appearance of perpetuating or reinforcing a potentially offensive stereotype.

"The programme team were reminded of the need to avoid any possibility of being seen to endorse offensive sexual stereotypes."

Yesterday, reports claimed that Norton will sign a new £2m deal with the BBC.