Channels slammed on phone services

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Ofcom said there was an apparent lack of transparency between telecoms operators, producers and broadcasters and called for more accountabilty.

It said some broadcasters were in denial about their responsibility to their viewers and must develop a fairer and more competitive system.

The damning inquiry has been looking into more than 20 alleged phone-in quiz scandals - including GMTV, the BBC and Five - since March.

Earlier this month, the BBC's Blue Peter was fined £50,000 after it was found guilty of "deception" of its young viewers by faking a competition winner.

Richard Ayre, who led the Ofcom inquiry, said: "Phoning a TV show isn't like ordering pizza.

"When you put the phone down, nothing arrives; you just have to trust that your call was counted.

"If broadcasters want audiences to go on spending millions calling in, they need to show they take consumer protection as seriously as programme content."

Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said action would be taken against broadcasters who failed to change their ways. "This inquiry shows the extent to which there has been a systemic failure of compliance," he said.

"Ofcom takes these issues extremely seriously and will continue to take action against broadcasters found to break the rules in this area. To restore trust with viewers, broadcasters need to deliver and demonstrate strong consumer protection as well as quality programming."