The US TV version of Channel 4's hit gay drama Queer As Folk has been shunned by corporate America - as they claim it's too shocking.

• The show, which stars Cagney And Lacey actress Sharon Gless, has been spurned by design house Versace and major stores which normally jump at product placement opportunities.
• Because of its sexual nature, top brand names have refused to allow their clothes and products to be used in the controversial series.

Versace, Polo, Ralph Lauren and Prada are among the top designer names refusing to be associated with the US version of gay drama Queer As Folk.

• According to New York magazine Casio, Ann Klein and Perry Ellis have also shunned the programme.
• The National Football League has even written to David Donohue, producer of the Pittsburgh-based show, demanding all references to the NFL and the Pittsburgh Steelers be removed.

Although designers including Polo, Ralph Lauren, Versace, and Prada have spurned Queer As Folk, US TV bosses aren't too worried.

• A spokesman for Showtime, which will run the drama from December, says: "It's going to be hot - our objective is to create a buzz within the gay community, and then attract a straight audience.
• "There's a chance everyone will be upset by us though."

The US version of Queer As Folk isn't likely to be as raunchy as the C4 version because of the puritan streak running through American society.

• The show features five gay men and a lesbian couple. It begins with an explicit gay sex scene, involving a boy, 17, and a man of 29. Sharon Gless plays a gay character's mother.
• Creator Russell Davies says: "There's no drama in political correctness." The UK version screened last year was slammed by TV watchdogs and parents.