■  Part of the BBC Children in Need webpage as it was yesterday.  The penultimate paragraph has now been removed.

LONDON, November 14, 2006  –  An astonishing – and discriminatory – line appeared in an article on the BBC website about a fundraiser for the annual Children in Need appeal, involving the popular BBC television programme Strictly Come Dancing.

The line that raised eyebrows enough to produce a number of emails from concerned readers of UK Gay News read: “Note: To enjoy this prize to the full, the two participants should be a male and a female”.

“We are not discriminating against gay people,” said a spokesperson for  BBC Radio 2.  “Anyone interested could have bid for this item. The suggestion that the two winners should be a male and a female was made to comply with the format of the show, which involves a male dancer partnering a female dancer.”

The “prize” that was being auctioned yesterday on BBC Radio 2 – it was snapped up for £18,000 – involves a day at BBC Television Centre and includes a “dance master class with two of the country’s top professional dancers, Brendan Cole and Nicole Cutler who will choreograph a short routine for you and your guest”.

The highlight of the “prize” is the opportunity to perform “your dance, live on air, as part of the BBC Two ‘spin-off’ programme It Takes Two, hosted by Claudia Winkleman”, the BBC website says.

While the wording of the “offending” statement does not bar a gay man or woman from taking part, it does say that a same-sex couple cannot.

“It does seem a bit odd that a same-sex couple can enter into a civil partnership and have their partnership fully recognised in law, yet are unable to bid for this prize,” commented one correspondent.

Another declared:  “Apparently we wouldn’t: ‘enjoy it to the full’ ...”

Gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, of gay rights group OutRage!, commented:  “It is a great pity that a worthy charity like Children In Need is being tarnished by homophobia.

“Shame on Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC and Terry Wogan for associating themselves with such prejudice.

“Ii is disingenuous of the BBC to hide behind the discrimatory formet of the show," he suggested

“The organisers should have reconsidered their petty, bigoted rules, and  opened up the prize to both mixed-sex and same-sex dance partners,” Mr. Tatchell added.

Other reactions received include:

“This is incredible as one of the Strictly Come Dancing judges is himself openly gay.”

“The BBC are usually good around gay issues which is why this surprised me a little. It's difficult, in this day and age, to understand what they are worried about.”

“Would be BBC have turned down a winning bid from our most famous civilly partnered couple Elton John and David Furnish?”