US hit television show Glee is not known for causing a great deal of controversy as the usual mix of teen angst and happy pop and show tunes is decidedly middle of the road when it comes to the scandal stakes.

However the latest episode features a song by Gary Glitter, the former pop star who has been jailed in Vietnam for three years after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two girls aged 10 and 11 and was later sent back to prison for possessing child pornography.

In the latest Glee episode the cast are joined by actress Gwyneth Paltrow once again with her singing a version of the 1973 Gary Glitter hit “Do You Want To Touch Me”.

Already the episode has been shown in the US however activists in the UK are calling for the show to be censored because it features material by Glitter.

A spokesman for Kidscape, a group which supports children who have been sexually abused and molested, said that the decision of Channel 4 bosses to air the episode in its entirety was “wholly inappropriate.”

Channel 4 have hit back stating that: “The scene is editorially justified within the programme and we do not seek to censor material in the proper context.”
The controversy has sparked debate as to if material produced by artists who have convictions against them should allowed to be used.

The Guardian newspaper said: “Should the crimes or misdemeanors of a performer or artist change how we consume their work? Where do we draw the line on whose art is still acceptable to consume? Is it wrong to wear a John Galliano dress, to enjoy a Roman Polanski film?”