The Voice sparks 139 complaints
The BBC was
forced to apologise after Holly Willoughby's daring dress for the final of The
Voice prompted 139 complaints.
The mother-of-two wore a black maxi dress slashed almost to
the navel to host the live show, sending viewer figures soaring by two million.
Black to basics ... with Reggie
BBC/Wall to Wall
But TV watchdog Ofcom received calls from scores of viewers
who felt the cleavage-flashing was not appropriate for a programme shown before
the 9pm watershed.
The BBC has apologised to anyone who found the outfit
'unsuitable'.
The final of the BBC singing contest, won by Northern Ireland's Andrea Begley, pulled in 8.7million viewers at its peak - an extra two million compared with the previous week.
But many took to Twitter suggesting Ms Willoughby's attention-grabbing
dress was a blatant ploy to boost ratings.
One viewer posted: 'If The Voice wants to boost its ratings, why don’t they send out Holly in a bikini?’
Another added: 'It's so obvious the BBC is making Holly
Willoughby wear low cut dresses so The Voice can get ratings.'
Yesterday a BBC spokesperson told the Daily Mirror: 'We're
sorry if some viewers found Holly's dress to be unsuitable.
'Holly enjoys fashion and we felt the dress she wore was
glamorous and wholly appropriate for the occasion.
'We don't believe it would have gone against audience
expectations for a TV spectacle such as this.'
Holly - often
nicknamed Holly Willoughbooby - recently admitted she didn't mind the public
fixation on her cleavage and had embraced the attention, despite admitting she
didn't understand it.
She said: 'I don’t mind people fixating on my cleavage and I
mainly blame Keith Lemon for bringing it into the main arena so people feel the
need to talk about it all the time.
'But it’s fine, it’s fine - they’re only boobs.'
Revealing outfits have previously sparked controversy on The Voice's rival ITV shows. Jennifer Lopez's raunchy performance in a black leotard on Britain's Got Talent prompted more than 100 complaints.
And the 2010 appearance by Rihanna and Christina Aguilera on
the X-Factor attracted around 4,500 complaints after their sexually-charged
routine.
That prompted Ofcom to issue new guidance to broadcasters to
observe the watershed and be mindful of sexual content on 'family shows'
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