ITV daytime show This Morning is to be investigated by media regulator Ofcom after it offered viewers a lesson in “bondage for beginners” featuring sex toys inspired by hit film, Fifty Shades of Grey.



Ofcom said it had 120 complaints from viewers about the item, fronted by the programme’s regular presenters Christine Bleakely and Philip Schofield along with “sexpert” Annabelle Knight, featuring bondage equipment and other X-rated topics.

The regulator said it was investigating whether the programme was suitable for broadcast before the 9pm watershed.

Schofield had warned viewers early in the programme, broadcast on 3 February, that they would be discussing bondage equipment but said it would be “done in good taste”.

The film version of EL James’s 50 Shades of Grey, starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, has been a worldwide hit.

This Morning’s ‘bondage for beginners’ segment

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “Ofcom has opened an investigation into whether an item about ‘bondage for beginners’ was suitable for broadcast before the watershed.”

The broadcast featured Schofield and Bleakley discussing the various sex toys while a pair of scantily clad models demonstrated them in the studio. At one point Schofield admitted: “Sorry … I got distracted”.

A spokesperson for This Morning said: “This Morning is a lifestyle programme that covers a diverse range of human interest topics. The programme has dealt with advice on sexual matters many times in the past, and a suitable announcement was given at the start. Many of our items spark debate and we welcome feedback from our viewers about our content.”

This Morning is no stranger to controversy, featuring a 74-year-old woman having a “vajacial” live on air earlier this year, and a married couple reviewing sex toys five years ago..



However, some of its graphic broadcasts are more public service than others, including Paul Ross’s live rectal examination to encourage people to check for prostate cancer in 2011, and a doctor having a smear test live on air last year to raise awareness of the importance of the examination.



Other This Morning items, such as last year’s on-air vasectomy to mark World Vasectomy Day, fall somewhere in between.