Jim Thornton has been fired from Wheel of Fortune.

The 61-year-old star has been dismissed as the announcer on the long-running game show after Sony conducted a "thorough investigation" into allegations made against him.

A Sony spokesperson said: "Following a thorough investigation, Jim Thornton's employment with Wheel of Fortune has been terminated, effective immediately."

The development comes after the studio had suspended Thornton earlier this week and launched a probe into the allegations - although the company did not reveal their nature.

Sony said: "We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton.

"He has been suspended from Wheel of Fortune and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation."

TMZ reported that the allegations against Thornton are related to an alleged incident on a flight in May, where a passenger is said to have made a complaint about the star.

In a statement to People, American Airlines said: "On May 14, American Airlines Flight 1276 was met by law enforcement upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) following concerns reported by a customer onboard."

Thornton has denied the allegations and his attorney told TMZ that the announcer "did not engage in any illegal conduct, was not arrested, and has not been charged with any crime".

The attorney continued: "When questioned about the complaint made by a fellow passenger on the flight, law enforcement spoke to him for five minutes or less, immediately determined that no wrongdoing had occurred and told my client he was free to go."

Thornton had served as the announcer on Wheel of Fortune since 2011, taking over following the death of long-time announcer Charlie O'Donnell the previous year.

Away from Wheel of Fortune, Thornton also had a run as a try-out announcer on 10 episodes of The Price Is Right in 2004, while he later voiced Johnny Gomez in Celebrity Deathmatch across 16 episodes in 2006 and 2007, and was heard in two 2009 episodes of The Cleveland Show.

On the big screen, he lent his voice to Monsters, Inc. as a commercial narrator in the 2001 animated Pixar classic.