A TV watchdog today promised to study an advertisement from high street giant WH Smith criticised as "offensive" to Geordies.

The Christmas commercial, starring Only Fools and Horses actor Nicholas Lyndhurst, features an overweight family from Newcastle eating messily in front of the television.

The Independent Television Commission has received 32 complaints so far about the advertisement and will now look to see whether it breaches its Code of Advertising Standards and Practice.

WH Smith have since apologised "profusely", insisting they never intended to cause offence.

A spokeswoman for the ITC said: "We have had 32 complaints - which is not a particularly high number for an advertisement. A third of the complaints is about the portrayal of obesity while the other two-thirds is to do with regional stereo-typing."

The Code of Advertising Standards and Practice states: "No advertisement may offend against good taste or decency or be offensive to public feeling and no advertisement should prejudice respect for human dignity."

The ITC spokeswoman said they should be able to make a decision on whether the advertisement has breached the code within two to three weeks.

A statement issued by WH Smith said: "It was not intended to cause offence in any way to anyone. We apologise profusely for any offence caused and can assure you that all comments will be noted and collated with our extensive customer research that we commission on all advertising.