- BBC Magazines was forced to withdraw its children's title Live & Kicking from retailers shelves last week after an inappropriate entry was found in the free give-away diary.
The diary featured a birthday entry for the former Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon who was sacked earlier this year after admitting he had taken cocaine. In the Live & Kicking diary he was referred to as Richard "Charlie" Bacon, alluding to his drug taking past.
A BBC spokeswoman refused to confirm why the diary had been withdrawn, but said: "There were errors in the diary and we had it reprinted to be put back on sale. As the magazine is aimed at children aged 10-12 years old we had to be very responsible, and that's worth the money we spent on recalling it."
The magazine was pulled off the shelves as soon as the rogue entry was spotted and will go back on sale next Thursday with the corrected version. The original magazine has not been changed since the error only related to the diary.
Live & Kicking, which is based on the BBC's children's show on Saturday mornings, registered a circulation of 215,205 in the six months to June this year (source: ABC), suffering a decline of just over seven per cent year on year. BBC Magazines also produces Top of the Pops magazine, which has fared rather better in the competitive teen market, reporting a 3.4 per cent increase in circulation to 436,488.
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