An email leaked to the Mail on Sunday alleged potential winners were selected in the first few minutes of the show but callers were still encouraged to phone in.

In tonight’s programme, Judy will say: "Before we go on, many of you will have read over the weekend and today that some problems have come to light with the You Say, We Pay competition. It seems some callers have not been properly entered into the competition.

"Richard and I knew nothing about this until late on Friday afternoon - we were very shocked and also angry on your behalf. We’re very sorry."

Richard will add: "A full investigation has been launched to find out exactly what’s happened, and we won’t be running You Say, We Pay for the time being.

"Once we know the full extent of the problem, we’ll be making arrangements for any viewers affected to get their money back."

There is no evidence to suggest Judy and Richard had any previous knowledge of the alleged problem.

Channel 4 to probe ’phone-in fix’ claims - Feb 19 2007
Channel 4 has launched an investigation into the Richard and Judy show following allegations that viewers are being cheated out of thousands of pounds in a phone-in competition.

Viewers who pay £1 to enter the You Say, We Pay competition have been encouraged to phone the premium rate number after the potential winners have been chosen, it was alleged.

Emails leaked to the Mail on Sunday reportedly show more than 32,000 people phoned in the week beginning February 5 after they had no chance of winning.

There was no evidence to suggest hosts Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley had any knowledge of the problem.

The competition was pulled on Friday by the programme’s makers, Cactus TV.

Channel 4 said today "something had obviously gone awry" and it was investigating.

The channel said: "We take these claims seriously and will be investigating them fully.

"Channel 4 is committed to ensuring all our on air competitions are conducted fairly and transparently and we reject any suggestion that we would knowingly mislead viewers in any way.

"Channel 4 engages a specialist service provider to operate the phone lines, administer the competition and put forward the names of potential winners to the production company, Cactus TV, during the show. Our contract with the service provider clearly states they must comply fully with the codes that govern competitions of this nature drawn up by ICSTIS.

"Cactus have also told us that they are fully aware and take very seriously the need for compliance with these codes."

A spokeswoman said Channel 4 and Cactus TV took a 50-50 share of profits. Cactus TV couldn’t be reached for comment today.

Madeley returns to ITV sofa - Dec 28 2006
It seems Richard Madeley will be back on the famous This Morning sofa - as a guest to promote his new ITV show Fortune.

Richard and wife Judy Finnegan quit as the show’s presenters in 2001 after falling out with ITV bosses.

But now Richard is set to grace the sofa again on January 4, according to the Daily Mirror, when new hosts Philip Schofield and Fern Britton will chat to him about his new show where players try to win a share of £1 million.

A This Morning insider told the paper: "It will be very strange to see Richard back on the sofa after half a decade away.

The show lost a third of its audience when Richard and Judy moved to present their afternoon show on Channel 4.

Their first replacements Coleen Nolan and Twiggy were not popular, but Fern and Philip have been raking in the viewers.

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