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Matthew Wright to be investigated over disability quiz - Daily TV round-up


'The Wright Stuff' is to be investigated by TV watchdog Ofcom after a quiz used a series of offensive terms to describe disability.

The multiple-choice quiz, which was run before an ad break on the Channel Five morning show, asked viewers which word out of 'mong', 'retard' or 'spaz' had been voted the most offensive to describe someone with learning difficulties.

It’s believed it referred to a poll conducted by the BBC in 2008, in which the word 'retard' was deemed the most offensive word to describe disability.

[Related feature: Eamonn Holmes' most memorable gaffes]


The quiz, which is just for fun and doesn’t ask viewers to phone in, followed a discussion on the programme last month about Rupert Murdoch's use of the word 'retarded' during the Leveson inquiry.

The regulator will look into whether the show broke rules by causing harm or offence to viewers.

It's the latest in a long line of gaffes made by Wright and his team.

In 2011, 2,220 people complained to Ofcom after Wright mimicked TV detective Taggart during a piece on the murder of a teenager in Scotland, the highest number received for any show last year.

Another phone-in on the show asked viewers 'Amanda Knox: Would ya?', relating to the release of Knox on appeal over the murder of Meredith Kercher, after which Wright was forced to make an on-air apology. [The Guardian]

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