TV quiz shows which tempt viewers to make premium rate phone calls could leave families with soaring phone bills, a Penwortham mum has warned.

Renee Blow, of Charnock Street, has blasted the late night shows, which charge up to 60p per call, after her son, William, 19, and a 13-year-old child in her care, made £88 worth of calls in three days.

The teenagers had been speed-dialling the ITV show Quizmania, which invites viewers to call in with answers to a puzzle.

In one month they had run up a £162 phone bill.

Mrs Blow's concerns come in the week the Gambling Commission revealed it was investigating shows such as Quizmania to see if they are, effectively, a lottery rather than a game of skill.

If the commission concludes the shows are a lottery TV stations will be forced to hand over 20 per cent of the receipts to a charity or good cause and submit to tight regulation from watchdogs.

"People think they are going to get some easy money but they end up with a big phone bill instead," said foster mum, Mrs Blow.

"When I got my phone bill I was shocked to see all of these premium rate phone calls.

"How many people are doing this and not realising how much it will cost?

"I've now have a block put on these numbers, but I even had to pay to do that.

"We already pay a licence to watch the television. They must be making an absolute mint out of this!"

Mrs Blow now plans to contact South Ribble MP, David Borrow, to ask him to bring the matter up for debate in Parliament.

A spokesman for Quizmania said: "The show includes a message on air and on the phoneline repeatedly telling customers they are being charged for the call.

"We cannot comment on individual cases without their details."