TV presenter Matthew Wright has written a "deeply personal" letter to the parents of teenager Liam Aitchison after he joked about his death.
The Wright Stuff presenter caused an uproar earlier in the week when he made jokes during a discussion of the 16-year-old's murder on Lewis during a newspaper review.
Channel 5 has confirmed that a private letter of apology has been sent to the teenager's parents.
A Facebook page calling for the presenter to be reported to Ofcom over the matter attracted more than 1000 supporters in only two days.
Wright made a half-hearted apology on Wednesday's programme, but finished by telling complainers to "grow up".
At the start of Thursday's programme he addressed the issue again.
He said: "Understandably, I know many of you were upset by comments made in Tuesday's paper review with regard to the tragic murder of 16-year old Liam Aitchison on Stornoway.
"I would like to say again that I had absolutely no intention of causing any distress to anyone involved in this tragic event or to upset viewers.
"I deeply, deeply regret my thoughtless comments, and very sincerely apologise to Liam's family and his community.
"I truly apologise from the bottom of my heart if I have made their suffering worse."
He added that Charlie Baker, who joined in on joking about the island's first murder for 43 years, also wished to apologise.
Liam's father Norman Aitchison had said he was "disgusted" about what had been said.
Media regulator Ofcom has received complaints and is looking into whether the comments should be investigated.
Local MPs had called for Wright's resignation following the comments, when he put on an exaggerated Scottish accent to say "There's been a murder".
A major police investigation is under way after Liam's body was found in a derelict building on November 22 after he had been missing for a week.
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