Ross show to be pre-recorded after 'homophobic' comments

(GETTY IMAGES)

Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning show on Radio 2 will no longer be broadcast live.

The BBC said the show would be pre-recorded "as live" every week. The decision follows complaints about a jibe Ross made on his show two weeks ago which appeared to be homophobic.

Ross has said that he was "mortified" people thought he was being anti-gay when he suggested parents should put their sons up for adoption if they wanted a Hannah Montana MP3 player.

A number of listeners complained to the broadcasting watchdog. Ross was involved in a light-hearted discussion about prizes in a competition themed around the fictional teen pop star when he joked: "If your son asks for a Hannah Montana MP3 player, you might want to already think about putting him down for adoption before he brings his ... erm ... partner home."

Responding to the complaints, he later posted a message on Twitter in which he said: "Am mortified to hear some people thought I was being homophobic on radio show. Nothing could be further from truth."

This morning's show was recorded on Wednesday because of the half-term break.

The BBC denied that the latest controversy was behind the decision not to run the show live or that Ross was unhappy with the plan. It said discussions have been taking place about the changes over a long period.