[Omah]

Channel 4 has defied a storm of protest to repeat a programme that made grotesquely obscene comments about Katie Price’s disabled son.

The level of criticism about the remarks, made by controversial comedian Frankie Boyle, was so high that the broadcaster was forced to stop taking complaints on its website.

That broadcast attracted more than 100 complaints, including one from Miss Price, who urged her fans to boycott the 38-year-old comedian’s DVD, which also features the jokes.

The programme – which also contains offensive jokes about the late TV star Jade Goody, who died of cervical cancer, and a sketch about a woman performing a sex act on ‘Jesus’ on the cross – is still available to watch on Channel 4’s website 4OD.

Michele Elliott, founder of childrens’ charity Kidscape, called for Channel 4 to be censured and fined. She said: ‘Frankie Boyle should learn to keep his mouth shut if he has nothing better to say. But the real culprit here is Channel 4. It didn’t have to broadcast the comments and it didn’t have to repeat them.’

On Friday Ofcom said it would investigate the programme for breaches of sections 2.1 and 2.3 of the Broadcasting Code, which cover generally accepted standards in content and the use of offensive language. In a statement Ofcom said: ‘We can confirm that we have received a complaint from Katie Price. Having considered this and other viewers’ concerns we have now launched an investigation into the show.’

Ofcom can fine the broadcaster up to five per cent of its advertising revenue if it is found to be in breach of guidelines. In 2009 Channel 4 earned £575 million from advertising revenue, so it could face a fine of up to £28 million. Other penalties include being forced to make an on-air apology or having the incident recorded on its broadcasting history.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz17rCbMPg1