Billy's Willy no laughing matter

Billy Connolly's naked body helped Comic Relief notch up 83 complaints this year.

The sight of the Big Yin streaking past bemused tourists in Piccadilly Circus was the main source of calls to the Broadcasting Standards Commission.

And it made the charity fund-raiser the second most complained-about programme of the year.

But the telethon was a log way behind Anne Robinson, whose anti-Welsh jibes on Paul Merton's Room 101 attracted 427 complaints.

The figures are revealed in the BSC's annual report, published today and available on its website. The torrent of complaints about the Anne Robinson was so strong that it has been omitted from much of the commission's statistics because it distorted the figures.

The report said that people are generally more relaxed about violence, sex and swearing, provided it is shown at appropriate times.

Published: 5 Jul 2001