The Birmingham firm which organised phone-in competitions for GMTV yesterday apologised "unreservedly" to the show and entrants in the latest premium phone line scandal.

Opera Interactive Technology, which is based in Brindleyplace, had its contract with GMTV terminated after it emerged viewers who may have paid to enter the show's phone-in competitions had no chance of winning.

Opera said its own investigation showed "certain irregularities" in its internal processes.

The company said it had put new systems in place to ensure the problems would never happen again and promised to work with GMTV and regulators to compensate those who had lost out.

In a statement, it said: "Opera has completed preliminary investigations in relation to the GMTV competitions.

"Those investigations have shown certain irregularities in our internal processes which should have prevented anything like this from happening.

"Opera Interactive Technology unreservedly apologises to GMTV and any of the competition entrants who have lost out as a result of any irregularities.

"Opera Interactive Technology will work diligently with GMTV and Icstis/Ofcom with all endeavours to recompense those competition entrants."

"We have put new systems and processes in place that will ensure this can never happen again."

The statement came after Paul Corley, GMTV's man-aging director, said on yesterday morning's show: "I'd just like to apologise for everything that's gone on.

"The fact is it appears two or three people at this telecoms company were taking it upon themselves to do this even without the knowledge of the management."

BBC1's Panorama programme claimed some callers and texters to GMTV stood no chance of winning because short-lists of potential winners were finalised before phone lines closed.

GMTV said it was determined to reimburse viewers who had lost out and its competitions were suspended until further notice.

Mr Corley described Panorama's estimate as much as £40 million had been fraudulently charged as "a serious exaggeration" but added he would be annoyed if viewers had been misled into spending even £1.