CTV fined £80,000

Saturday 3rd October 2009, 2:59PM BST.

The award was given to Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, even though the Catherine Tate Show received the highest number of votes.

CHANNEL TV has been fined £80,000 for failing to prevent thousands of viewers being duped during the British Comedy Awards.

Regulator Ofcom found that the station repeatedly failed to ensure that the 2004 and 2005 shows met strict broadcasting regulations.

It was Channel TV’s responsibility to ensure that the programmes, broadcast on ITV, met codes laid down by the regulator and the Independent Television Commission.

However, in the final half hour of both programmes, viewers were encouraged to vote on premium phone lines for the People’s Choice Award, even though that part of the show had been pre-recorded and the award had already been presented.

The award was given to Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, even though the Catherine Tate Show received the highest number of votes.

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