Sir Elton John may now have to learn to mind his P’s and Q’s in public as he sparked a series of viewer complaints when he uttered an expletive on live television.
The veteran star was appearing on Channel Four's The New Paul O'Grady Show to celebrate the first anniversary of the Billy Elliot musical, for which he wrote the music.
But he shocked some onlookers with his candid answer to a question posed by one of the musical's young stars about his unusual middle name.
Sir Elton revealed the answer was Hercules, joking his real name of Reginald Kenneth Dwight sounded like he was a banker. He then swore.
As show host Paul O'Grady looked a little stunned, he added: "It wasn't going to be Gladys, was it?" Daily Snack reported.
A spokeswoman for Channel Four confirmed about 20 viewers had complained in the immediate aftermath of the tea-time show.
She said O'Grady had apologised at the end of the broadcast, saying "sorry if it has been a bit raucous, ladies and gentlemen".
"It is a live programme and I don't think it is the strongest language, and we feel that Paul dealt with it appropriately.
{{/usCountry}}"It is a live programme and I don't think it is the strongest language, and we feel that Paul dealt with it appropriately.
{{/usCountry}}It is a live show and obviously Elton is a guest but Paul dealt with it there and then and apologised," she added.