A women's charity has slammed Channel Five for broadcasting Respectable, a new sitcom set in a suburban brothel. Eaves, a London-based feminist charity, has set up an online petition against the show and claims to have collected over 1,600 names. It condemns the channel for showing a programme which derives humour from women selling sex in a brothel and labels it "a gross misrepresentation of the lives of women involved in prostitution. The reality for most women involved in prostitution is coercion, extreme violence, drug dependency, homelessness, criminal records, rapes and beatings - not shoe collections and student loans."

"In July 2006, two women in Shropshire were beaten to death in a brothel," it continues. "By broadcasting a sitcom that makes selling sex in brothels appear funny, Channel Five is glamorising an industry that exploits, degrades and ultimately kills women. This sitcom should be withdrawn immediately from schedules and shelved, never to be shown."

A statement issued by Five notes that, "as would be obvious to anyone watching it, this is not a documentary, it is a comedy, and we would expect it to be viewed as such."

Meanwhile, the first episode of Respectable, which aired on Wednesday, pulled in disappointing viewing figures. It attracted 700,000 viewers - Five averages 1.3 million viewers for programmes in its Wednesday evening slot.