Channel 4 has launched an investigation into the Richard and Judy show following allegations that viewers are being cheated out of thousands of pounds in a phone-in competition.
Viewers who pay £1 a time to enter the popular You Say, We Pay competition have been encouraged to phone the premium rate number after the potential winners have been chosen, it has been alleged.
Emails leaked to the Mail on Sunday reportedly show more than 32,000 people phoned the programme in the week beginning February 5 after they had no chance of winning.
There was no evidence to suggest that hosts Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley had any knowledge of the problem, the newspaper said.
The competition was pulled from the show on Friday by the programme's makers, Cactus TV.
Judy Finnigan told viewers it was "because of a technical problem with our telephone supplier", adding that she hoped the competition would be back on Monday.
Channel 4 said that "something had obviously gone awry" and it was investigating the allegations.
In a statement, the channel said: "We take these claims seriously and will be investigating them fully.
"Channel 4 is committed to ensuring all our on air competitions are conducted fairly and transparently and we reject any suggestion that we would knowingly mislead viewers in any way."
