The BBC was fined £95,000 this morning after it emerged that it had repeatedly faked phone-ins on programmes presented by Dermot O'Leary and Tony Blackburn back in 2005 and 2006.

Ofcom imposed a £70,000 penalty as it concluded that eight phone-in competitions were broadcast "as live" when, in fact, they were pre-recorded.

Listeners to Mr O'Leary's Radio 2 show, made by an independent production company, were being asked to ring in, when in fact they had no chance of winning.

On Tony Blackburn's Radio London show, a further five pre-recorded phone-ins were broadcast "as live". Once again, listeners who called had no hope of success and, as a result, a second fine of £25,000 was levied on the BBC.

Mr O'Leary and Mr Blackburn had pre-recorded the programmes because, at various times, other commitments meant that the two presenters could not turn up for their live slot. It is not clear how far either man knew that listeners would later call in when they had no chance of winning, and that this was a breach of Ofcom's broadcasting rules.

The broadcast regulator said that it it had it viewed the BBC's breaches as serious.

Pulling no punches, the regulator said: "The BBC invited listeners to enter these competitions at the time of the broadcasts, in the full knowledge that the audience stood no chance of either entering or winning."

Last month, a row about prank phone messages left by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand on actor Andrew Sachs' voicemail, which were broadcast on Radio 2, prompted over 42,000 complaints.

Mr Brand resigned from Radio 2 and Mr Ross was suspended for twelve weeks over the affair.

Lesley Douglas, who was controller of Radio 2, at the time of Mr O'Leary's faked phone-ins, also resigned as a result of the Brand-Ross affair.

Mr O'Leary and Mr Blackburn, best known for his presenting on Radio 1 and Top of the Pops, continue to work on Radio 2 and Radio London respectively, and Mr O'Leary was also the presenter of this season's X-Factor.

In a statement, the BBC said it accepted the findings, and noted that Ofcom had reduced the size of its fines - reflecting BBC efforts to stamp out faking phone ins.

A spokesman said: "We welcome Ofcom's recognition of the extensive action taken to address these issues and that neither the BBC nor any member of staff made any money from these lapses."

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