Disclaimer: The following feature discusses the use of words that, to varying degrees, can be considered vulgar or offensive. It is strongly advised that, should you find such words distressing or inappropriate, you do not read on beyond this point. For the rest of you, some bad language follows…
1936: Music hall comedian Hector Thaxter was the first man to say 'arse' on the radio.
1965: A former Observer drama critic, Kenneth Tynan, was the first man to say 'fuck' on TV.
1967: After watching an episode of 'Til Death Us Do Part with over 40 instances of the word 'bloody', Mary Whitehouse declared 'This is the end of civilisation as we know it'.
1972: The Oxford English Dictionary includes the words 'fuck' and 'cunt' for the first time.
1983: Jools Holland was suspended for six weeks for swearing on a live broadcast of The Tube.
1999: With the advent of Channel 4's Bremner, Bird and Fortune and The Eleven O'clock Show, all known swear words are finally used openly in entertainment TV.
2003: Jerry Springer, the Opera, the musical tale of a US television host, has been on stage since 2003 and has over 8,000 swear words.
Want more on the history of swearing? Visit the Laughing Policeman website.
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