Richard MOODeley.

Richard Madeley has been suspended from broadcasting until further notice by furious Carlton bigwig, Carlton Wigbig.

Madeley's increasingly eccentric behaviour in front of the cameras during recent months has been the cause of much and many a headache for television chiefs, who have found his gritty, honest and sometimes downright barbaric presenting style a little "too hot to handle".

The shit hit the fans today however, when Madeley lashed out at overweight fat women live on air during the Fat Fashion segment on ITV's This Morning programme this morning.

Clothing expert (and Idiotica showbiz busybody) Diamond Hard was showing Richard and his mother Judy a selection of out-size reversible blouse-tents for the larger lady. The third model to come on, Kelly, 25, had just done a wobbly twirl in an orange top when Richard, out of the blue, saw red.

"You look dreadful ", he spat. "You look like a pig hanging on a washing line, and you make me, and I'm quite sure almost all of the viewers feel sick. You've got absolutely no shame, have you?" He then went on to call Kelly (who was now crying) a "fucking bloater" who was "greedy enough to eat Big Ben and still have room for a bag of sweets".

Shell-shocked producers decided to go in to an ad-break, and Richard was eventually calmed down enough to continue the show. 10,000 complaints from incensed fatty-lovers were received in the following hour, prompting the decision to take Richard off the air. Speaking at a press conference this afternoon Madeley was typically unrepentant. When asked to explain his behaviour he said: "It's not my fault I was rude - it was my glands".