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BBC Breakfast has issued an on-air apology after stand-up Dave Fulton said ‘wanker’ on this morning’s programme.

The American comedian was appearing with Mitch Benn to discuss the US remake of Only Fools and Horses and the differences between US and UK sitcoms.

Breakfast host Bill Turnbull began the discussion by asking: ‘How would you say lovely jubbly in an American accent?’, to which Fulton replied: ‘you wouldn’t because it’s like me saying wanker or something ...’.

Co-host Sian Williams hastily interjected: ‘No, no, that was a swearword and apologies to anyone who was offended by that’.

A shocked Fulton blurted: ‘Is that a swearword? Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry’.

The BBC later said: 'Unfortunately, a guest used a swearword live on-air this morning. Both Sian and Bill apologised immediately and again at the end of the interview. We are sorry for any offence caused.'

Fulton has lived and worked in the UK for many years – with Edinburgh shows going back more than a decade – but had tweeted beforehand: ‘Off to do BBC 1 Breakfast Show with jetlag and not nearly enough coffee in me.’

Benn managed to announce his forthcoming novel but reflected ruefully on Twitter that he’d been upstaged by the ‘w-bomb’.

The word ‘wanker’ is generally unknown in the US. Two episodes of The Simpsons containing it were censored before broadcast in the UK, but Channel 4 was forced to apologise in 2008 when an episode featuring guest star Adam Clayton of U2 and Montgomery Burns using it went out unedited at 6pm.

Here’s the clip:

Published: 1 Feb 2012