The BBC has denied banning the video by teenage duo Tatu from being shown on Top Of The Pops.

Tatu - Russians Julia Volkova, 17, and Lena Katina, 18 - went straight to number one on Sunday with their single All The Things She Said.

The single's video, which shows the pair kissing one another while dressed in school uniform, has led to calls for a ban amid accusations of "paedophilic pop".

Top Of The Pops will not show the video on Friday, but the BBC says this is because it has better exclusive footage of the duo.

The show goes out before the watershed

"We have not banned it," said a BBC spokeswoman.

"We are not showing it this week. It has been around for a while, and Top Of The Pops has access to a number of never-seen-before versions of Tatu's live performances."

She said the show had not ruled out showing the video in future.

However, it is understood the BBC is sensitive to fears that the video may offend some viewers if it is shown before the 2100 watershed.

Top Of The Pops is aired at 1930 on Fridays, and any footage would be shown shortly before 2000.

Richard and Judy have denounced the duo

Tatu have sold about 100,000 copies of the single to knock David Sneddon - winner of TV talent show Fame Academy - off the top spot.

Daytime TV presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan have campaigned against the duo.

Madeley described them as "sick", while Finnigan denounces them as "paedophilic entertainment".

The girls were 14 when they were discovered in Moscow by Ivan Shapovalov, a child psychologist and advertising executive.

He has admitted that Tatu are an "underage sex project" designed to appeal to men in search of "underage entertainment".

Anti-paedophile campaigners have also denounced the act.

The child protection charity Kidscape described them as "pathetic" and said child pornography was not a laughing matter.

The teenagers say they are lovers, although many pop industry observers believe their image is manufactured and they are said to have boyfriends in Russia.