A well-known TV comedian has had her tour advert banned by the advertising watchdog after it was accused of mocking the Christian faith.

Fern Brady, who has appeared Channel 4 shows Taskmaster and The Great Celebrity Bake Off, was depicted squirting milk from her breast into the mouth of a man dressed in religious clothing.

Although Brady argued the image was based on a 17th century religious painting, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled it was likely to cause ‘serious offence’ to some Christians.

It added that the advert must not appear again ‘in the form complained of’ in traditional media, where it is likely to cause serious offence.

The ASA also warned Brady ‘to take care to not cause offence on the grounds of religion in future ads’.

The still image was being used online to promote the Scottish comedian’s tour, called I Gave You Milk to Drink. The title was overlaid on a stained-glass window in the image.

A complainant had contacted the ASA, challenging whether the advert was ‘offensive’ because it ‘mocked the Christian faith’.

Brady, 38, explained to the ASA that the image was a ‘direct recreation’ of The Lactation of St. Bernard, also known as Saint Bernard and the Virgin, by Spanish painter Alonso Cano.

In the famous painting the Virgin Mary is depicted spraying milk from her breast into the mouth of St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

Brady said the advert had ‘creatively’ referenced the original picture by using ‘satire and humour’. But she added it had not been intended to ‘mock’ or ‘belittle’ the ‘original religious significance’.

It was added that efforts had been made to ‘avoid any unintentional offence’ notably by covering Brady’s breast with ‘a beam of light’, which differed from the original painting.

Explaining Brady’s response to the case, the ruling said: ‘The intention was not to mock or belittle the original religious significance, but to offer a contemporary interpretation that aligned with her public persona as a comedian known for her irreverent style and her religious upbringing.’

Her response said while some may have found the image ‘distasteful’, it did not mean it was likely to cause ‘serious or widespread offence’.

The ASA said the paid-for ad had been spotted on the Sky News website in August.

In the ruling it said: ‘The image contained a woman with Fern Brady’s face, holding a baby, and spraying milk directly from her partially obscured breast into the mouth of a kneeling holy figure.’

Explaining why it had upheld the complaint, the ASA added: ‘Regardless of consumers’ familiarity with the painting, or the content of Fern Brady’s work, we considered the ad, which appeared on a general news website, was likely to be seen as depicting the Virgin Mary, a highly revered individual in the Christian tradition, breastfeeding an adult holy figure in a church setting, for the purposes of humour.

‘In that context, we considered that the ad was likely to be seen as mocking the religious figures shown.

‘We therefore concluded that it was likely to cause serious offence to some within the Christian faith who saw the ad on the site.’

Brady had reportedly criticised the fact that a complaint was made about the advert.

According to a report in The Times last month she posted a video on social media in which she said ‘some virgin complained to the ASA about my beautiful tour poster’.

She had added: ‘There’s not even anything wrong with it, why are you complaining?’