Following complaints from viewers about the amount of time that was given over to coverage of singer Whitney Houston’s funeral – which aired on the BBC’s News channel – the corporation has defended its coverage, but did concede that “the duration of the coverage was too long for some viewers.”

Some four hours of footage from the funeral was aired on the channel, prompting around 120 complaints from viewers, to which the BBC responded, “We are sorry if this wasn’t to the satisfaction of all our viewers…

“But it is part of the News Channel function to be there when major stories take place, and we felt that this was such an occasion.”

During the funeral service, which aired on Saturday, dozens of celebrities were seen either performing, paying verbal tribute, or simply attending at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.to pay their respects..

Among those who sang at the service were Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, R Kelly and a host of gospel stars performed also.

Actor Kevin Costner, who of course starred with Houston in blockbuster The Bodyguard, fought back his emotion as he gave a moving eulogy.

And Whitney’s ex-husband, Bobby Brown, caused some drama by walking out of the service.

Whitney was of course found dead last week, her body slumped in the bath at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

The cause of her death remains unclear as the results of toxicology tests are awaited.

Here’s a reminder of just some of the footage aired by the BBC…