Amanda Holden’s plunging ‘stripper’ dress on BGT overtakes Russell Brand’s ‘crude’ Comic Relief coverage to bag most Ofcom complaints of 2017
AMANDA Holden's shocking Britain's Got Talent "stripper" dress, with a neckline slashed down to her navel, has attracted the most Ofcom complaints this year so far.
The outrageous £11,250 garment has beaten this year's "shambles" Comic Relief, including Russell Brand's "sexual" comments and swearing, to the 2017 title - getting twice as many complaints.
Amanda's dress, designed by Julien Macdonald, shocked viewers of the family show due to its plunging neckline, and it also had an equally low-cut back.
The former wife of Les Dennis, 46, had joked before putting it on for the live episode: "Will people be complaining to Ofcom? I hope so, I really do."
Complain they did, and TV watchdog Ofcom has said that it's received a whopping 663 complaints since the episode aired on June 1.
The number is huge compared to the 90 complaints Ofcom got for outfits worn by Amanda and Alesha Dixon on the 2016 series.
Online, Amanda was compared to "stripper" by viewers, and her co-judge David Walliams even made a joke about her "inappropriate" wardrobe choice on the programme.
Despite the massive backlash, Ofcom reviewed the episode and opted not to investigate further, stating that Ms Holden's choice of attire "would not have exceeded most viewers expectations".
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Meanwhile this year's "awful" BBC One Comic Relief coverage attracted a total of240 complaints for "crude language" and "sexual references", as well as Russell Brand's exclamation: "F***ing hell!".
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Those watching the marathon show were hiding behind their pillows from the horrors on their screens, including Graham Norton forcing Cara Delevingne to talk about having sex on a plane in front of her own father.
The sketches by Vic Reeves - who flashed a fake penis before the 9pm watershed - and Bob Mortimer was also branded "cringeworthy" and "unfunny", while a series of technical glitches left viewers on edge.
In third place for complaints was a March 6 episode of Emmerdale, with 275 viewers complaining about violence after Aaron Dingle's prison ordeal played out on screen.
Aaron was taunted and attacked by fellow inmates who knew about his traumatic childhood being abused by his father Gordon.
Good Morning Britain nabbed fourth place with 181 complaints for its interview with far-right activist Tommy Robinson, a former leader of the English Defence League, broadcast on June 20.
He left viewers raging after accusing Finsbury Park Mosque of "creating terrorists" just an hour after worshippers were mowed down by a nationalist terrorist.
Even Piers Morgan was calling the man a "bigoted lunatic" so it's no surprise viewers had their backs up too.
And surprisingly, gentle sitcom Benidorm drew 137 complaints for its May 3 episode after viewers took issue with a remark Sherrie Hewson's character about someone with a cleft lip and palate having a "face like a dropped pie".
Ofcom's list of most complained-about shows was compiled based on 2017 dates up to and including August 30.
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