I was upset to read today that Ricky Gervais’ prostate cancer ad has been earmarked for post-watershed transmission. Media Guardian tells us: “In the ad Gervais plays a doctor who sticks his finger up the backside of a patient - a “digital rectal examination” to check for the cancer, which kills 10,000 men in the UK every year. The RACC has told the Prostate Cancer Charity that the advert’s “squish” noise must be removed and has recommended that it be broadcast only after 9pm and before 6am.”

A comedy squish noise - what’s that compared to the swearing, the violence, the graphic scenes now shown on TV even in the middle of the day? As Gervais says in the MG interview, the main reason a lot of people die of cancer is that they don’t get regular checkups. Surely if the advert is going to do anything to change that, it must be shown in primetime hours.

The decision of the RACC is totally diabolical, short-sighted and pretty draconian.