Media watchdog Ofcom has received 43 complaints after presenters swore on stage at last night’s Brit Awards.

The ceremony, which was broadcast live on ITV1, was co-hosted by Sharon Osbourne, whose vocabulary descended when comedian Vic Reeves took the stage to present an award.

Reeves appeared to forget which award he was supposed to present and, as he stumbled over his lines, Osbourne accused him of being drunk.

She yelled: "P*** off, you p***ed b******."

The comic later said his confusion was due to a faulty autocue.

Fellow comedian Alan Carr, however, happily admitted he had been drinking, pronouncing himself "a bit p***ed" as he presented an award to Take That.

But the rest of the stars in attendance were well-behaved.

Singer Amy Winehouse, who gave a series of shambolic performances as her drug problem took hold last year, performed twice without incident.

Music producer du-jour Mark Ronson, who picked up the Best Male award, hugged her as they completed a performance of their hit Valerie, before she went on to sing a word-perfect rendition of Love Is A Losing Game.

The only nod to the chaotic life she is known for came when she implored the audience to think of her husband, jailed in Pentoville prison on a charge of perverting the course of justice.

"Make some noise for my husband, my Blake," she cried.

Double winners Arctic Monkeys attempted to poke fun at the Brit School, attended by Adele, Winehouse, Leona Lewis and Kate Nash, but organisers cut them off mid-speech.

They had no need to worry about the closing act. The always-dignified Sir Paul McCartney finished the ceremony with a 15-minute medley and earned the biggest ovation of the night.

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