NBC pulls donkey semen episode of Fear Factor

REALITY TV appears to have finally gone too far after NBC pulled an episode of American show Fear Factor in which the contestants were challenged to drink a glass of donkey semen and another of urine.

The stunt, filmed last summer, was to have been shown in tonight's episode, called 'Hee Haw! Hee Haw!'.

According to gossip website TMZ, the teams of twins had to down two glasses, one of semen and another of urine, to progress to the next round. "NBC had given 'FF' producers the thumbs up on airing the episode," said the website. "But according to our sources honchos at NBC and its parent company, Comcast, started having second thoughts after TMZ published details of the challenge."

Now it has disappeared from the schedules and a previous episode will be aired instead.

The show's host, Joe Rogan (above), hinted that there was something majorly unpleasant in store for the contestants in an interview. When website Entertainment Weekly asked him about the most disgusting challenge in the show recently he replied: "The one I want to give you, I can't."

He also hinted at the turmoil it had caused behind the scenes. "They’re not even sure if they're going to air it," he said. "It's so over the top and ridiculous. When they told me, I really thought they were joking at first."

It is not the first time that animal semen has made an appearance in a reality TV show. Many viewers thought the format had reached its nadir in 2004 when Rebecca Loos, David Beckham's former lover, masturbated a pig during British show The Farm. However, Fear Factor now appears to have 'jumped the shark', as they say in TV circles.

The question many people are asking now is: how do the poor contestants who agreed to drink the fluids feel now that their hard work will never see the light of day. ·