Rotten Remarks

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TV station apologizes for expletives uttered by Johnny Rotten on reality show

LONDON, England (AP) — Former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon — who let fly with a string of expletives on a live celebrity reality TV show — walked off the set Thursday.

Early morning viewers of "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" saw Lydon, formerly known as Johnny Rotten, hug his fellow contestants before walking off the set in the Australian rain forest.

Television station ITV said they lowered a drawbridge that separates the "Big Brother"-style camp from the outside world to allow Lydon to leave.

His departure came just hours after ITV producers gave the 47-year-old a dressing down for swearing on a live segment of the popular program that is being followed by about 10 million Britons each night.

ITV bosses imposed a time delay Wednesday after the outburst of bad language from Lydon when he was told that the public had voted to keep him in the show.

"He has been fantastic entertainment on the show and viewers and his fellow celebrities have found him to be an endearing, eccentric and sensitive character," ITV said in a statement. "We respect his decision to quit and hope we haven't seen the last of him."

The show strands C-list celebs in the Australian rain forest, subjects them to a series of unpalatable trials involving spiders and snakes, and allows the public to vote them off the show one by one.

Lydon earlier successfully completed a task of grabbing 10 stars from a pen full of hungry, pecking ostriches to win food for his fellow contestants.

Punk fans had expressed shock and dismay when Lydon's participation in the show alongside a topless model, a former Olympic athlete and a pop star's wife was announced earlier this year.

There's no prize money for the winner, but previous British victors -- a disc jockey and a cricketer -- experienced big boosts to flagging careers.