Oh dear, nations Geordie sweethearts, Ant and Dec, have found themselves at the centre of yet another controversy with their game show, Red Or Black!

It was only this year that regulatory authorities were called in to investigate several game shows, including Red Or Black, to see if they complied with the Gambling Commissions rules and regulations after it was claimed that the show posed no skill element to it, and now it has signed up in a sponsorship deal with Wonga, a legal loan shark company!

The loveable presenters were faced with a torrent of criticism for the decision on social networking site, Twitter, lead by Labour MP Stella Creasy, who said that the loan company was using the duo’s ‘good name to promote legal loan sharking’.

Wonga, whose loans carry a typical APR of 4,214%, recently came under fire from trading watchdogs for using misleading debt collection methods.

A spokesperson for the former Biker Grove actors has said that the deal ‘has nothing to do with them’ personally.

However, Creasy said of the deal: “They could show some leadership and say this is nothing to do with us and we aren’t happy about it.

“I’ve been running a campaign for the last two-and-a-half years to get the cost of credit capped in the UK.

“Wonga are trading on the image of Ant and Dec as some of the nation’s favourite TV presenters.”

But a spokesman for Ant and Dec said: “Ant and Dec are the presenters of Red Or Black? As presenters, the sponsorship of the series has nothing to do with them.

“They are not executive producers of Red Or Black?”

Wonga.com tells borrowers that its loans carry a typical APR of 4,214%, which is extremely high compared to other lenders, but the company says most of its customers pay their loans back in less than a month.

A spokeswoman for the Wonga, who have been criticised for giving people loans which turn out to be unaffordable, rolling over loans and charging interest rates running to several thousand per cent, said: “We’re usually kept very busy building Europe’s fastest growing technology business and making sure that at least nine out of 10 customers continue recommending us, but sometimes we like to launch new, straight-talking sponsorships, too.

“If that gets a few people talking and tweeting, we welcome that.”

Watch one of the puppet Wonga adverts in the clip below: