Graham Norton’s has been told off by the BBC after he made a joke about lesbians.

During an episode in March, Norton joked about a picture on a patent application saying: “I don’t know why they’ve got some strange lesbian to be the model.”

Ruth Jones, who was a guest on the show, replied: “She may not be a lesbian, come on now.”

Jones added: “What does a lesbian look like?”

“That,” Norton answered, before saying: “Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with being a lesbian.”

In response to a viewers complaint, the BBC said: “Although the initial references might have been inoffensive if considered on their own, they prompted an exchange with one of the programme’s guests which gave the references the appearance of perpetuating or reinforcing a potentially offensive stereotype.

“The programme team were reminded of the need to avoid any possibility of being seen to endorse offensive sexual stereotypes.”