A study by the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC) showed the proportion of people who agreed there was too much sex on television rose from 32% in 1997 to 38% in 1998.

And 22% said sex was their biggest concern about TV output in 1998, compared with 12% in 1997.

Misguided perceptions

The interviews were conducted in November last year, when TV schedules featured programmes like ITV's Sex: The Vice Trade and Channel 4's Anatomy Of Desire and Channel 5's Sex And Shopping.

But programme monitoring found no evidence to support the perception that sexual acts on TV had increased, said the watchdog.

One in five programmes on terrestrial television contained incidents of sexual behaviour.

Once again the annual survey proved violence and bad language were the biggest anxieties among viewers.

Last year 58% said violence was the most worrying issue in television standards, against 24% citing bad language and 12% who picked sex.

That compared with 62% citing violence as the biggest concern the year before.

Audience 'suspicious'

"Audiences are reacting to a change in the schedules," BSC director Stephen Whittle said.

"They appear to be suspicious of the motives for the amount of sex-related material on television.

"But they have also noticed that broadcasters are taking more care over the portrayal of violence - the issue which continues to cause most concern."