Complaints about the broadcast of a swear word in connection with Victoria Beckham during an episode of BBC One’s Have I Got News For You have been upheld, the corporation’s executive complaints unit (ECU) has ruled.

The show, from 7 November last year, hosted by comic and presenter Katherine Ryan, featured an email allegedly sent by Sir David Beckham in which the word was used.

Ryan told the show’s panellists: “I don’t know that we are allowed to broadcast the c-word, but you did reference Victoria Beckham earlier and we’ll allow that.”

Two viewers complained that this was gratuitously offensive, and the BBC said there was no justification for a comment which “presented Victoria Beckham as equivalent to a particularly offensive word”.

The ECU finding has been reported to the management of BBC Content.

As a result, a version of the programme edited in light of the finding will replace the version currently on iPlayer.

The ECU statement in full said: “The relevant BBC Editorial Guidelines do not require programmes to avoid giving offence, but do require that any offence should be editorially justified.

“In the ECU’s judgement, while the inclusion of the c-word in the programme derived editorial justification from David Beckham’s alleged use of it and the satirical reflections this prompted, there was no such justification for a comment which presented Victoria Beckham as equivalent to a particularly offensive word.”

In November, the ECU responded to complaints from viewers it said were “unhappy with the inclusion of strong language in the programme”.

It said “the use of the strong language was editorially justified as the panel were discussing a current news story about Sir David Beckham and directly quoting from leaked emails in which he had used the word in question, leading to further discussion”.

It added that it was “common practice” to carry a clear verbal warning at the start of post-watershed programmes with very strong language, which was what happened for this particular episode of the show.

“It is never our intention to offend our audience,” the statement added.