Graham Norton in trouble over joke by Dustin Hoffman

Gay comic Graham Norton's nightly talk show has been rapped by the United Kingdom's broadcasting watchdog after Hollywood star Dustin Hoffman told a joke on the show that contained an off-color word. The Broadcasting Standards Commission said Thursday that the four-letter word beginning with the letter c should have been edited. The standards watchdog, which responded to a viewer complaint about swearing, took the view that the word had potential for serious offense and that its use "had crossed acceptable boundaries." Television network Channel Four had argued in its defense that the offending word had been left in the broadcast because Hoffman's joke relied on it for the punchline. "The commission suggested to the broadcaster not to use the word again," a spokesman said. The watchdog has no power to fine or sanction broadcasters.