Comedian Ricky Gervais has had a dressing-down from a broadcasting watchdog for his repeated use of the word "cock" in a lunchtime radio show.

The broadcasting standards commission upheld a complaint against the comedian for "coarse sexual innuendo" in the programme on London station Xfm.

"The commission acknowledged that the presenter's remarks were intended to be humorous but took the view that the amount and detail of the coarse sexual innuendo had exceeded acceptable boundaries for broadcast," said the BSC in a statement.

The complainant objected to a section in the comic's Saturday afternoon show when he discussed the different meanings of the word "cock".

Gervais wondered aloud whether the word was acceptable when discussing birds, but not the male sexual organ.

A BSC spokesman said the comedian "went on and on about it" for nearly five minutes.

Xfm- a self-styled alternative radio station - said in its defence that its remit was to provide "cutting edge" programmes for a youth audience.

The station said the programme's brief was to include elements of "alternative comedy within certain shows that would not fit within a more mainstream radio station format".

"In this particular show it was not the presenter's intention to shock when they took a humorous look at how the English language could be construed in different ways within different contexts."

Gervais, whose big break was on Channel 4's 11 o'clock show, has shot to household status through his portrayal of David Brent, the middle manager from hell, in BBC2's cult show The Office.