boxing day 2012: Reality TV show Big Brother was most complained about programme of 2012 after 2,000 calls to Ofcom

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Reality TV show Big Brother was most complained about programme of 2012 after 2,000 calls to Ofcom

More than half were about Conor McIntyre's threats to housemate

X Factor show where Carolynne Poole was kicked out is second

Phillip Schofield handing Prime Minister list of alleged Tory paedophiles third

By Steve Robson

PUBLISHED: 13:27 EST, 18 December 2012 | UPDATED: 06:34 EST, 19 December 2012

The bullying behaviour of a Big Brother housemate made the show the most complained about programme of the year.

The Channel 5 show sparked 2,088 complaints to TV watchdog Ofcom throughout the 2012 series.

And more than half concerned housemate Conor McIntyre's threatening remarks towards fellow contestant Deana Uppal.

Tough guy: The Northern Irishman found the task easy so therefore he picked on Deana

Conor McIntyre's behaviour during this year's Big Brother prompted more than 1,000 complaints to Ofcom

Upset: Deana was seen crying and told the other housemates that she felt she was being bullied

Contest Deana Uppal said she felt 'bullied' after she was subjected to a foul-mouthed rant by housemate Conor McIntyre

Conor McIntyre, left, beats Luke Scrase, right, to the buzzer during a game on this year's Big Brother which sparked the most complaints from TV viewers in 2012

Conor McIntyre, left, beats Luke Scrase, right, to the buzzer to win £50,000 during a game on this year's Big Brother

At one point he told other contestants he would 'punch her in the face, just knock her out' and sexually assault her with a hair brush.

Ofcom ruled that the show, which transferred to Channel 5 after it was dropped by Channel 4 in 2010, breached broadcasting guidelines.

Second came The X Factor Results show, with most complaints surrounding singer Carolynne Poole's controversial exit after an executive was seen whispering in judge Louis Walsh's ear.

Viewers accused the ITV1 show's producers of engineering a fix when the Irish judge initially appeared to save Poole, before backing eccentric singer Rylan Clark, when they were the bottom two in the public vote.

A producer was seen whispering in Louis Walsh's ear during the controversial X Factor show when Carolynne Poole was kicked off the show prompting accusations that the result was a fix

Third was This Morning, with most complaints concerning the stunt which saw presenter Phillip Schofield hand a list of names of alleged Tory paedophiles to Prime Minister David Cameron during a live interview.

Former Tory politician Lord McAlpine today reached a £125,000 settlement with ITV and Schofield over the incident.

Fourth was True Stories: Gypsy Blood, a Channel 4 programme which traced the tradition of bare knuckle fighting and featured scenes of dogs attacking deer and cock fighting.

The top 10 was completed by Live: The Silent Ascent, broadcast on the Sikh Channel, Sky News,The X Factor, Channel 4 documentary Islam: the Untold Story, BBC1 sitcom Citizen Khan and Keith Lemon's LemonAid, in which Lemon offered a puppy as as prize in a competition on the ITV1 show.