A TELEVISION show featuring a man talking about his grief at being unable to help his dying father end his life was withdrawn.

Bosses at ITV1 withdrew Friday's planned edition of the Jeremy Kyle Show after a campaign group questioned whether it would present a balanced reflection of the euthanasia debate.

Mark Tolmie, aged 35, from Broad Walk, Westhoughton, had been due to appear on the show to describe his anguish at seeing his father suffer with spinal cancer for three years until his death.

Edward Tolmie had asked his son to take him abroad to an assisted suicide clinic, but Mark's family convinced him that it was not the right thing to do.

If he had carried out his father's wishes, Mr Tolmie would have faced being arrest when he arrived back in the UK.

He decided to appear on the TV show to highlight the dilemma faced by families in his situation.

However, the ProLife Alliance intervened after reading in The Bolton News last Thursday about Mr Tolmie's scheduled appearance.

Julia Millington, Prolife's political director, said: "It concerned me because it was very much about one man telling his story and it was very clear he had strong opinions on the law.

"We were concerned there wouldn't be any representation from the other side, such as looking at how people's pain can be alleviated."

Mrs Millington emailed the show's producers to ensure they had followed broadcast regulator Ofcom's guidelines on impartiality on matters of political controversy.

"We know the show isn't political but the topic is highly political, controversial and current," said Mrs Millington.

Mr Tolmie said he found out via a telephone message that the show had been withdrawn and that it would be shown at a later date.

"It's disappointing and I don't really know what the complaints were about but we'll just have to wait until it is shown," he said.

Lucy Garbutt, the show's executive producer, insisted the show is not political and that it concentrated on Mr Tolmie's personal story rather than the issue at large.