Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has prompted nearly 200 people to complain to the BBC about a joke he made on Sunday's motoring show.
Clarkson, 48, was taking part in a lorry-driving task, when he suggested that lorry drivers kill sex workers.
"Change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That's a lot of effort in a day," he said.
Lorry driver Steve Wright was jailed in February for killing five prostitutes.
Clarkson's joke, made before the watershed, sparked 188 complaints.
'Urban myth'
In a statement, the BBC said: "The vast majority of Top Gear viewers have clear expectations of Jeremy Clarkson's long-established and frequently provocative on-screen persona.
"This particular reference was used to comically exaggerate and make ridiculous an unfair urban myth about the world of lorry driving, and was not intended to cause offence."
The Iceni Project, a charity which had helped some of the murdered prostitutes in Ipswich, criticised Clarkson's remark.
Director Brian Tobin called the comment "highly distasteful and insensitive".
Mr Tobin said the joke was made around the anniversary of the women's deaths and it made him "cringe".
Media regulator watchdog Ofcom said it had also been contacted by viewers angry at the remarks.
A spokesman said: "These complaints are currently being assessed against the Broadcasting Code.
"All UK broadcasters must adhere to Ofcom's Broadcasting Code which sets standards for the content of television and radio broadcasting."
Last week, the BBC received more than 30,000 complaints about a series of phone pranks made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross on Radio 2.
)
