Even "Blue Peter" is in on this:
Blue Peter sorry for fake contest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6449919.stm<<
The BBC has apologised for faking the results of a competition on children's programme Blue Peter last November.
A technical problem meant that viewers calling in for a competition were not getting through to the studio.
A member of staff asked a child who was visiting the show to pose as a caller and answer a question live on air.
BBC Children's controller Richard Deverell called the incident a "serious error of judgement". The BBC did not make money from calls to the programme.
Viewers who did ring in were charged 10p per call, with 3.5p going to children's charity Unicef.
However, the child who posed as the winning caller took home a prize chosen from a selection of children's toys.
[...]
Blue Peter will broadcast an apology to viewers on Wednesday's edition of the show. A winner will also be chosen from the callers who contacted the programme on 27 November, 2006.
"I would like to apologise unequivocally to viewers, to all the children who took part in the competition," said Mr Deverell.
"We have already apologised directly to the child involved and her family for this incident."
A freephone number - 08000 565 363 - is available for viewers who took part in the competition and would like more information.
[...]
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