British broadcaster ITV issued an official apology after media regulator Ofcom ruled the network breached broadcasting standards.
The violation occurred when unedited profane subtitles appeared during a morning repeat of Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars USA on May 2.
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The broadcast aired at 8:25 a. m.
, well before the 9 p. m.
watershed designed to protect younger viewers.
While the audio track successfully muted the profanity with censorship tones, the accompanying closed captions twice displayed the unedited f-word on screen.
Ofcom cited the incident as a clear breach of Rule 1.14 of the broadcasting code, which strictly prohibits the most offensive language before the watershed.
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The regulator emphasized that because the program was pre-recorded, the network had ample opportunity to catch the discrepancy before transmission.
Ofcom also noted that ITV failed to issue an on-air apology following the broadcast.
Human Error and Corrective Measures
ITV explained that human error caused the oversight.
The subtitles had been generated in June 2025 from an unedited version of the show prior to the implementation of new quality control measures.
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Following the error, ITV reviewed all subtitled editions of the show and reinforced scheduling verification guidance.
