A scantily clad couple play provocatively on a bed. As massage oil flows, talk turns to bondage equipment and other explicit topics.

Some tawdry late-night show on a subscription porn channel?

No. This was daytime on ITV yesterday.

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Don't adjust the TV set! ITV's This Morning today unveiled a segment called Bondage For Beginners, which featured a live demonstration of 50 Shades of Grey inspired sex toys

Hosts Christine Bleakely (left) and Philip Schofield were barely able to concentrate on their lines

And viewers who tuned in to This Morning expecting the usual mix of light news, fashion and cookery were clearly not amused.

Within minutes many were expressing their disbelief on Twitter, pointing out that the live show is broadcast at a time when many young children may be watching.

They described the programme’s content as pornographic and ‘ridiculously inappropriate’ for daytime TV.

The ‘Bondage For Beginners’ session was aired ahead of Valentine’s Day and inspired by the new film of the controversial erotic novel 50 Shades Of Grey, which opens in cinemas next week.

Presenters Christine Bleakley and Phillip Schofield giggled their way through the show, which also featured a discussion about sex toys.

Schofield, 52, had warned viewers shortly after 10.30am that they would be discussing bondage equipment in three stages – beginners, intermediate and advanced – throughout the show with ‘sexpert’ Annabelle Knight. However he assured them it would ‘be done in good taste’.

Backlash: Viewers took to Twitter to vent their disgust at the Bondage For Beginners segment

Angry viewers have taken to social media to air their disgust

The demonstration of sex toys created a Twitter backlash

One viewer described the segment as 'sickening'

Yet at one point Schofield was so distracted by the romping models that he missed his cue to introduce the next section, while Miss Bleakley, 36, found herself laughing uncontrollably.

Media watchdog Ofcom said afterwards that it had received 50 complaints and was assessing whether to start an investigation.

Campaigners said it was an error of judgment to air the discussion at that time of day. Vivienne Pattison, director of Mediawatch UK, said the show had set a dangerous example: ‘It’s not enough to say most children will be at school [at that time] because that’s just not good enough.

‘Quite apart from issues of taste and the fact that people might not want to speak to their children about this, I think it is dangerous to normalise this kind of behaviour. [50 Shades Of Grey] is putting across ideas that humiliation is pleasurable and torture is gratifying and I don’t think those are healthy for anybody at all.

'But if it is dangerous for adults then it is doubly dangerous for children watching this.

'Sexpert' Annabelle Knight, who appeared on This Morning during the daytime TV show's segment called 'Bondage for Beginners'

The usually poised Bleakley also lost her composure and covered her mouth in embarrassment

In bad taste? The models demonstrate the feather tickler in today's bondage segment on This Morning

Posing on the silk sheets, the models seemed to be having a fantastic time, but were distinctly less comfortable with the steamy demonstration.

‘If they weren’t already under enough pressure in our incredibly sexualised society, they are being told that this sort of thing is great and this is how you should enjoy yourself. What an incredibly dangerous thing for a child to pick up on.’

Viewers were not impressed either. One said on Twitter: ‘#BondageForBeginners is ridiculously inappropriate. This programme is on at my health club where there are children.’

Another added: ‘Too early for this talk #BondageForBeginners. This is porn now @itvthismorning #FiftyShades #inappropriate.’

One shocked viewer expresses amazement at the sex toy demonstration

Another confused viewer takes to social media

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It is not the first time viewers have been turned off by This Morning. Previous live features have included a pensioner having a makeover on her nether regions, a smear test, a vasectomy and a rectal examination.

An ITV spokesman 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.’