Did a BBC clown tell children he was fucking them? There's a question we didn't think that we'd have to ponder, never mind poor old Auntie, but that's the question of the day:

A children's TV presenter is accused of telling kids 'I'm f****** you' in sign language as he introduces his CBeebies show.

Mr Tumble, TV presenter Justin Fletcher, has been greeting kids with the rude sign, which involves gently rubbing the hands together between the thumb and first finger, on the show Something Special according to angry parents.

The CBeebies character says the gesture means 'I'm happy to see you.'

Well there's happy and then there's HAPPY.

Now the Beeb are shouting no foul because it's just a slightly different form of sign language, but the Royal National Institute for the Deaf make sure that no one can misunderstand their reaction:

'We advised the BBC that using Makaton would cause confusion. -- Makaton is used more for children with learning difficulties -- it is essentially a different language.

In British sign language 'happy' is shown by gently brushing the palms against each other. The swear word is made by brushing the hands together between the thumb and first finger.

At least now they know who to hire to explain the next television license hike.

Photo credit: TexasDex