The BBC might have faced public embarrassment over last year’s Strictly Come Dancing voting fiasco, but it will not face official censure, Ofcom announced today.

The broadcasting watchdog received almost 300 complaints and the BBC 1,500 after semi-final phone-in votes last December were rendered useless because of a tie on the dancefloor.

The contest is determined by a combination of ratings from a panel of four judges and telephone votes from the public. But on the December 14 show, singer Rachel Stevens and model Lisa Snowdon were given equal scores by the judges. This left fans who voted to save actor Tom Chambers from a dance-off with phone bills but no real power.

Today Ofcom released a statement saying “it was clear the mistake had arisen from an oversight rather than any mishandling of the votes received or technical problem with the voting process”.

The watchdog also said the BBC responded quickly after the December 14 show, carrying votes over to the following week’s show and allowing all three couples through to the final. The corporation then offered to refund voters the cost of their calls to a premium-rate phone number.

"Ofcom was satisfied that appropriate steps were taken by the BBC and the disadvantage to viewers minimised."

"In Ofcom's view the BBC had been open and transparent with viewers about the mistake it made and the solution adopted."

Chambers went on to win the popular series.

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