The Cliffhanger trailer was part of a BBC promotional campaign

The Cliffhanger trail, which debuted on Tuesday, featured a contemporary couple watching a woman fleeing a fire before falling over the cliff.

Instead of rushing to help the woman the couple sit transfixed, with the tag line "everyone likes to watch".

The BBC received hundreds of complaints from viewers who had been upset by the 90-second trailer and were concerned it had gone out before the watershed.

The corporation has apologised if it caused offence and is reviewing it with a view to re-editing the trailer before it is shown again.

Consideration

The new trail follows on from last year's highly popular Rush Hour campaign which saw French stuntman David Belle jump between rooftops.

But the latest promotion has not been so well-received.

A BBC spokesman said: "They are meant to be attention-grabbing but they are certainly not meant to be offensive or distressing.

"We have listened very carefully to viewers responses and we will not be showing the trail again until further consideration can be given to whether it should be re-edited."

He added: "We are very sorry if viewers were taken by surprise or were distressed by the trail."