Rowan Atkinson's Comic Relief sketch tops Ofcom complaints chart

Rowan Atkinson’s sketch for Comic Relief in which he played a fictional Archbishop of Canterbury was the most complained about moment of television in 2013 according to Ofcom.

Ofcom received 487 complaints calling Atkinson’s monologue about prayer “offensive”, although the regulator said that the comedy sketch did not break any rules.

Big Brother received 965 complains throughout its 2013 season, making it the most complained about show on UK television for the second year in a row, amid claims of racism, bullying, and fighting.

Another long-running show, X-Factor, received 317 complaints about inappropriate skimpy outfits worn by some of the contestants and the performance by Robin Thicke of the controversial but very popular song Blurred Lines.

The ITV News coverage of the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby received 278 complaints about its broadcast of graphic images of the murder and bloodied suspects before the 9pm watershed. Their coverage is being investigated alongside that of BBC news, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News, and Sky News, with their conclusions being published after the end of the ongoing related criminal proceedings.

Ofcom has received 13,780 complaints so far this year.