The mistake generated scores of complaints when first aired in 2012

W as trying to avoid complaints when it pulled the series seven show

1,217 complaints were made about missing out on a repeat of one episode

A leaked document yesterday revealed the BBC has had to deal with 1,217 complaints after missing out on a past episode of quiz show Pointless in a run of repeats.

Ironically, complaints were exactly what the Corporation was trying to avoid, when it decided to pull episode 60 of series seven of the show.

The issue tops a table of the most complained about BBC programmes in the last month.

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A leaked document yesterday revealed the BBC has had to deal with 1,217 complaints after missing out on a past episode of quiz Pointless in a run of repeats

938 complaints were made about coverage of the Middle East situation being too pro-Palestinian, a further 813 complained that it was too pro-Israeli, 809 viewers complained that Iain Watters had been unfairly eliminated from The Great British Bake Off.

In the episode a pair of contestants were wrongly told an answer they gave to a question was incorrect, generating scores of complaints when first aired in 2012.

In the head-to-head round, the episode’s losing contestants answered the question ‘What is the name of an individual light sensitive cell in a digital camera?’ with the answer ‘sensor’.

The host Richard Osman told them the answer was wrong, and said the correct answer was ‘pixel’. Several viewers contacted to the BBC at the time to complain he should have accepted their answer as equally valid.

The BBC said it did not want to generate a new wave of complaints by airing the episode again. And it meant Episode 59 of the series was followed by episode 61, leap-frogging episode 60.

However it is a decision that prompted a backlash and according to a leaked document seen by website Buzzfeed more than 1,000 complaints have been made to the BBC.

Last night the episode was available to view on YouTube, but had been removed from BBC iPlayer.

The show, first aired in 2012, was pulled because a pair of contestants were wrongly told they had given an incorrect answer to a question - prompting a series of complaints

As well as going directly to the BBC, angry viewers had taken to online forums.

One fan wrote in a forum: ‘Why did they show all them episodes if they knew they were going to skip the most important and exciting one?’

A BBC spokesman said: ‘Following the programme’s original broadcast in 2012, a query was raised around the phrasing of one of the questions. This had no bearing on the outcome of the show but on balance we decided it was best not to repeat the episode. This decision was made because accuracy is of the utmost importance on Pointless, but we apologise for any confusion to audiences.’