Ofcom have decided that Britain’s Got Talent were very naughty when they didn’t make it clear which dog was doing what tricks when Jules O’Dwyer and Matisse won the ITV talent show last year.
Jules and her dog took home the BGT crown last year, but viewers were later shocked to discover that the dog walking on a tightrope had not actually been Matisse but a doggy double called Chase.
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Ofcom has now confirmed that the show breached rule 2.14, which states that broadcasters must make sure viewers are not "materially misled" about any competition or voting.
The regulator added that it received 1,175 complaints about the switch, which Jules only revealed during a chat on Lorraine the day after the final.
In response, ITV admitted that producers considered changing the name of Jules’ act to reflect the fact that other dogs were taking part, but decided that it could spoil the "surprise reveal of Chase during the semi-final performance and the surprise reveal of Skippy in the final".
ITV also admitted that while Chase performed the tightrope walk "without any sort of disguise or costume", the programme didn't point out that he wasn't Matisse, and accepted that most people wouldn't have been able to see that Chase was wearing a name collar.
And now ITV is offering refunds to viewers who paid to vote for Jules and Matisse.
Wow. People sure do take this stuff seriously, eh?