Derren Brown's past programmes have caused controversy

The Heist saw illusionist Derren Brown persuade a group of businessmen to take part in what they believed was a genuine armed raid.

The programme, aired in January, sparked complaints that the project trivialised and glamorised robbery.

But Ofcom said the show did not condone or encourage criminal behaviour.

Derren Brown measured how suggestible participants were and whether they could be influenced to do things they would not normally consider.

They were tested to see whether they would shoplift or administer what they thought was an electric shock to another person.

Cleared

Police were involved in the experiment, cordoning off a London street so filming could take place.

Ofcom said participants were cleared of any long-term effects by an independent psychologist.

"We feel this programme did not condone or glamorise this behaviour and was unlikely to have encouraged anyone to copy such behaviour in the belief that attempts of this nature were either easy or somehow worth attempting," it said.

After complaints from the GMB union earlier this year, Channel 4 defended the programme as "a thought-provoking, intelligent and entertaining special".

Brown sparked a barrage of complaints in 2003 when he appeared to play Russian roulette live on Channel 4.

The following year, he courted controversy by staging a live "seance" on the network.