BBC receive complaints after Womble removes head

Parents have complained to the BBC after a Womble removed his costume head during a webcam stream of Simon Mayo's Radio 2 show. The error was made during a live video stream on the Drivetime show on Tuesday this week when Orinoco whipped off his head as the webcam was still running. Parents from all over the UK had tuned in with their kids to watch The Wombles appear exclusively on the Radio Two website and perform two songs, including Christmas number one hopeful Wombling Merry Christmas.

But as an interview with Simon Mayo came to a close, Orinico - played by songwriter Mike Batt - removed his head, leaving children 'horrified' that the Wombles were not real. The BBC have hurriedly removed a link to the live feed from its website - leaving just two songs and an interview with Simon Mayo left to view. Mr Batt, who invented The Wombles pop group in the 70s, apologised on Twitter, but blamed BBC staff for telling him he was 'no longer on air' and so could safely remove his costume. After being told that hundreds of children has seen he was inside the Womble, the 62-year-old musician and Womble tweeted: "On no - they told us we were off air!!!!"



He also said that he was meant to be given a two minute break in-between singing the songs and being interviewed by Simon Mayo, saying it was 'very hot' in the costume. He said: "I told them (the BBC) that I needed a break after the songs (as it) was a high heat effort - they were supposed to give me a two minute break!" Parents from around the UK said the 'damage had already been done' and that they had been forced to come up with 'all kinds of explanations' about why there was a human inside a Womble. The full video stream is no longer available to view after BBC chiefs cut it into three segments - none of which show Orinico's head being removed.

A spokesman for the BBC admitted that the Womble was not meant to remove his head until after the cameras had stopped rolling, but blamed Orinoco for the bungle. She said: "The Wombles played a festive set for Radio 2 which was filmed for live online streaming. The Wombles were aware they were being filmed, but he (Mike Batt) just took his head off. The group were fully aware that they were being filmed and had not been given the all clear that they were off air."