Walliams cleared by Ofcom

Funnyman David Walliams has been cleared by heads at television watchdog Ofcom after calling a former Mastermind contestant "astoundingly thick".

The Little Britain star took aim at Simon Curtis on his Awfully Good show by mocking him for only scoring one point in the specialist category of the BBC quiz.

In the programme, Walliams aired a clip of Curtis' performance in the January episode, saying, "If you're not, let's say, very bright, it's probably not a good idea to go on a quiz show that tests your mental agility. And by not very bright, I mean, astoundingly thick."

Curtis complained to Ofcom, claiming he had been treated unfairly by Walliams and insisting the comic gave the impression he was "of low intelligence", when he had previously won another Mastermind episode and had also won £250,000 on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Heads at Channel 4 claim Walliams' remarks were "not a literal assessment" of Curtis' intelligence and that viewers would be "aware Mr Curtis had an above average IQ in order to appear on such a high-profile show".

Chiefs at Ofcom have now rejected the complaint.