Police must investigate theft and fraud on Ant'n'Dec's rigged TV shows...

Yet another multi-million pound ripoff of the viewing public exposed today. This time it's ITV in the frame.

ITV boss Michael Grade makes the astonishing admission that some of the biggest shows on TV are guilty of conning millions of pounds out of their own viewers.

Grade holds his hands up, says sorry and promises to pay the money back to viewers who can be traced - and donate the rest to charity.

But questioned by Channel Four news tonight, Grade denies any evidence of criminality.

Well, I'm not sure what else you would call it: In just one of the many scams exposed, viewers of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway were invited to pay premium rates to decide the location of a giant piggy-bank and have a chance of riding it to win the cash.

Turns out the location had already been decided by the producers - who also selected the winner. Those who responded to Ant and Dec's appeal to phone in - and part with their money - had no chance of influencing anything.

The X-Factor and I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here - also hosted by Ant and Dec - have also been routinely fleecing viewers.

Theft. Deception. Fraud. Robbery.

Whatever you call it, it's criminal.

Crime is a matter for the police, not for Michael Grade or even for the so called "regulator" (who clearly failed to protect the public from being ripped-off).

Ant and Dec - and ITV - have laughed all the way to the bank on the back of these shows.

The viewing public has been treated like mugs.

It's time the Police were called in to investigate a crime that has netted more profit than The Great Train Robbery.