EastEnders investigated by Ofcom over rape storyline

More than seven million viewers saw the episode in which Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) was attacked by Dean Wicks, played by Matt Di Angelo

Ofcom is to investigate EastEnders over a storyline in which Linda Carter the Queen Vic landlady was raped.

More than 90 people complained to the media watchdog and several hundred viewers also complained to the BBC over the episode screened on 6 October.

The BBC has defended it as part of the soap's "rich history" of portraying difficult storylines.

The broadcaster said it had been careful to avoid any graphic depictions.

The show's makers also contended that the attack was "implied and was not explicit".

Separately, Channel 5 has been censured by Ofcom over swearing on three shows - Big Brother, It Takes a Thief To Catch a Thief and and the Hotel Inspector Revisited, all of which were repeated during the daytime.

The broadcaster admitted that "human error" meant it had failed to broadcast a warning over offensive language prior to a screening of It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief at 10:30 on 22 March, 2014.

The channel said that as a result of this error, it had reviewed its internal records to ensure that all pre-watershed versions of programmes were correctly labelled and reviewed by its compliance team.

All screenings were daytime repeats of evening shows and Ofcom ruled that the channel did not take appropriate steps to avoid frequent use of offensive language before the watershed.

Three people complained to Ofcom about a Big Brother episode screened at lunchtime on 7 August, which involved a conversation between five of the housemates - Chris, Ashleigh, Ash, Winston and Helen.

Ofcom noted 14 instances of different variations of the same swear word within a 50-second part of their conversation.

Channel 5 said that "none of the language identified was used in connection with violent or particularly aggressive behaviour.

"The tone of the conversation was light and in keeping with the kind of banter that was frequently heard in the House when alcohol had been consumed," the broadcaster added.