Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway criticised for ‘infect human scum’ joke amid coronavirus crisis

Ofcom is assessing whether to investigate after receiving 29 complaints

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway has been condemned for airing a skit about infecting “human scum” amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Ofcom is currently assessing whether or not to investigate the ITV show after Saturday night’s episode (28 March) prompted 29 official complaints from viewers.

The episode in question saw the presenters perform a sketch titled "Men in Brown", in which they attempted to uncover which celebrity guest was actually an alien infecting the human race.

Declan Donnelly can be seen shouting “infect the human scum” before trying to strangle his co-host Anthony McPartlin.

“We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate,” an Ofcom spokesperson told Metro.co.uk.

Saturday’s episode went ahead without a studio audience, and the hosts appeared via video link from their homes to present the show’s best bits.

The UK saw its biggest daily increase in deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday (1 April), with 2,352 people now confirmed to have died from the disease in British hospitals.

Earlier this week, a 13-year-old boy from Brixton, south London, who tested positive for coronavirus died in hospital. He is thought to be the youngest person to have died with the virus in the UK.