Almost two-fifths of viewers support a total ban on swearing on television, according to a new YouGov poll for The Sunday Times.

Some 30% of people believe the F-word should be banned, while 55% think the C-word should be outlawed.

However, nearly half of all viewers (49%) believe there should be a place for some swear words – albeit mild ones – in programmes.

The findings follow calls by politicians and senior broadcasting figures, such as Michael Grade, the boss of ITV, and Sir Terry Wogan, the BBC presenter, for television to clean up its act.

Writing in the News Review section today, Frank Skinner, the comedian, says he has toned down the bad language in his show.

“To my horror, I find myself agreeing with Michael Grade and Terry Wogan that there really is too much swearing on television,” writes Skinner.

“I don’t want to sound like a grumpy old stand-up, but some young television comics use swearing like a kid uses tomato ketchup.”

Just over 40% of people polled by YouGov said the BBC should “reflect” standards of language – even if this means showing things that offend some viewers.

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