Viewers of BBC Two's
Wolf Hall adaptation were shocked to hear the utterance of "c**t" in the latest episode.
A total of 24 members of the public have filed complaints with Ofcom about the use of the word, asking whether it was "really necessary".
The scene in question aired just after the 9pm watershed on Wednesday (February 18).
Based on Hilary Mantel's novel, the drama charts the rise of Thomas Cromwell and regularly uses bad language.
The "c**t" incident occurred during a discussion between courtiers about Henry VIII's third wife Jane Seymour (Kate Phillips).
The king (
Damian Lewis) spoke of his future bride, pondering: "Does not Mistress Seymour have the tiniest hands?"
After walking away, a courtier mocked him by saying: "Does she not have the whitest throat?", before another piped up, saying: "Has she not got the wettest c**t you ever groped?'
An Ofcom spokesperson stated that it had received just four complaints about the swearing, saying: "We will assess these complaints before deciding whether to investigate or not." A further 20 people complained directly to the BBC.
The scene was repeated on Channel 4's
Gogglebox last week, shocking the stars watching the programme.
A spokesman told
Digital Spy: "
Wolf Hall is broadcast after the watershed and the language in this powerful scene was taken from Hilary Mantel's original text."
The word "c**t" was not considered the most obscene term back in early centuries, and appears several times in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer.
However, it appears to have become more risqué by William Shakespeare's era, a few decades after
Wolf Hall's early 16th-century setting - as the playwright never used the word, but referred to it on occasion.
Wolf Hall continues on Wednesday (February 25) at 9pm on BBC Two.
Seriously TV exec's are FUCKING IDIOTS.
