Paul O'Grady's chat show cleared after presenter inhaled helium in 'spur of the moment' stunt

Presenter said he was unaware of 'hippy crack' laughing gas craze

Paul O'Grady attends the 2014 TRIC Awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel on March 11, 2014 in London, England. (Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

Paul O’Grady’s chat show has been cleared of breaching broadcasting rules by Ofcom over a prank where he inhaled helium from a balloon.

The broadcasting watchdog launched an investigation into The Paul O'Grady Show in May over showing potentially dangerous behaviour. The show airs on ITV at 5pm, before the 9pm watershed.

Last week, the outgoing host said he regretted the spur of the moment stunt, telling The Liverpool Echo he was unaware of the growing trend among young people to inhale nitrous oxide or “hippy crack” from balloons.

“I had no idea, not a clue,” he said. “I didn’t know all of this about adults going to festivals filling balloons with laughing gas and having whiffs of it.

“What do I know about laughing gas at festivals? When did you last see me at Glastonbury?”

A spokesperson for Ofcom said: “We investigated this programme to see if it was appropriate to show potentially dangerous behaviour, imitable by children, where the presenter inhaled helium from a balloon.

“We concluded ITV didn’t break broadcasting rules because the show has little appeal to children, the presenter’s inhalation was very brief and a warning was given.

“We have, however, given guidance to ITV on appropriate scheduling when showing potentially dangerous behaviour.”