'Little Britain' sketch too offensive?

Doctors and campaigners have spoken out against a new Little Britain sketch that mocks incontinence.

The BBC comedy show has introduced a new character named Mrs. Emery, an old lady who has a problem controlling her bowels. She was shown in last week's episode urinating all over a supermarket floor.

Lesley Woolnough, executive director of incontinence charity Incontact, said: "This kind of media exposure pushed beyond the bounds of decency and did no-one any favours."

"People with incontinence are often ridiculed, but it is not a joke," she added. "The condition can be life-destroying for many older people."

Dr Adrian Wagg at the Royal College of Physicians, who has just released an audit of incontinence care, is also unhappy with the sketch.

"Care for older people with continence problems is patchy at best," he explained, "and many in health care are working hard to encourage those with the problem to seek help."

"Such a sketch does no-one any favours."

The BBC has defended the show, saying: "Comedy is a subjective medium, and the Little Britain characters have been deliberately magnified to cartoonish proportions.

"This particular sketch is exaggerated to such an extreme level, it's clear that it has no grounding in reality."