C4 Queen joke prompts complaints

Channel 4 is facing a backlash after broadcasting a show featuring a lewd joke about the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The pre-recorded show, presented by Jimmy Carr, also included sexual gags about US president Barack Obama, sprinter Usain Bolt and singer Susan Boyle.

An Ofcom spokesman said there had been complaints about The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year, broadcast on Sunday evening, but was unable to say how many.

Most of the controversial material came from Gavin And Stacey star James Corden and comic Jack Whitehall, assisted by Jonathan Ross, who was suspended from the BBC in 2008 after he and Russell Brand left lewd messages on the answerphone of veteran actor Andrew Sachs.

Ross later quit the BBC and said one reason was to avoid the "sheer volume of negative press" he was attracting to the corporation.

Whitehall and Corden each drank a bottle of wine during the recording of the show, the reports said.

Whitehall made a joke about the bladder infection suffered by the Duke of Edinburgh last summer.