First ad for sex toy to be shown on British TV

The first sex toy commercial to be shown on terrestrial TV in Britain will be screened this week.

A vibrating penis ring will appear in the ad on Channel 4 and Five and satellite channels. Durex, which makes the disposable toy, said the post-11pm broadcast restriction for the commercial was too severe. It wants permission to show it after the 9pm watershed.

The advert shows a couple at a dinner table. The man gives the woman what looks like an engagement- ring box. She opens it, smiles, and says "I do".

Durex's managing director, Martyn Ward, said the company would lobby to get the commercial shown after the 9pm watershed.

"There is nothing rude or crude about the advert and we feel this restriction is hypocritical, given the images of a sexual nature you quite regularly see on TV at this time of night," he said.