ITV and Sky News presenter Eamonn Holmes has been forced to issue an apology after calling a colleague “retarded” on live TV.

Holmes, 51, mocked guest presenter Jonathan Wilkes on This Morning after he said he was not very knowledgeable about the UK’s geography.

The incident – which was laughed about on air – occurred during a newspaper review section of the show.

As they discussed a poll in which a third of Britons said they didn’t know where London, Birmingham and Glasgow are, Wilkes joked he was “in that third”.

Holmes jumped in with the seemingly harmless “retarded” comment. But according to a report on the Mail Online several viewers phoned in and complained about the term.

“'Sorry to three or four of you who have got in touch this morning, because I used the word 'retarded' during the newspaper review.

"You seem to take it personally or seem to say that I'm insulting all sorts of people who have all sorts of conditions.

“But obviously I would never want to do that or cause any sort of offence.

"There's this man who has got an autistic son, who said that somehow I had insulted his child. I really hope it hasn't, because I certainly wouldn't use it in that context.

"Sorry if that caused you offence,” Holmes said after the break.

Later via Twitter Holmes said he’d made a “mistake” and apologised again.

An ITV spokesperson later said: “Eamonn accepts that it was a poor choice of words and it was not his intention to cause any offence. He has apologised on air for any offence caused.”