Jeremy Kyle Show swear word escapes censure by Ofcom

The Jeremy Kyle Show has been broadcast on ITV since 2005

ITV has escaped censure from Ofcom for broadcasting an uncensored swear word on The Jeremy Kyle Show that was said in a Scottish accent.

The offensive word was used during a "heated exchange" between a woman and her ex-partner on the morning show on 18 January.

ITV admitted the speaker's accent had meant the word had not been "understood" prior to broadcast.

It apologised for any offence caused and said it had received no complaints.

According to Ofcom, ITV said the show had been reviewed by several people prior to transmission - including a Scottish member of the production team - but none had picked up on the offensive language.

It was alerted to the use of the swear word on the day of the broadcast by Scottish colleagues at STV, and removed the particular episode from its catch up service immediately.

ITV said the swear word "would not have been readily audible, or at least not readily understandable as such (other than to a small number of Scottish viewers), due to the speaker's accent and the casual rather than emphatic manner in which the comment was made".

Ofcom - which received two complaints - said although the word was "an example of the most offensive language" it was "not clearly audible".

"We noted that it was used during a heated exchange between two programme contributors, who were speaking very quickly," it said.

It said given the steps ITV had taken to remove inappropriate material from the show - both prior to and after the broadcast - it considered the matter resolved.

• Ofcom also said it would not be investigating 10 complaints relating to "offensive language" used by Adele during The Brit Awards on ITV on 24 February, or 60 complaints relating to "nudity" in the same broadcast.