Russell Brand’s old BBC shows slammed as ‘completely unacceptable’ by Tim Davie
Russell Brand’s old BBC shows have been slammed as “completely unacceptable” by BBC Director General Tim Davie.
The 48-year-old comedian and actor was accused by four women of allegations including rape and sexual assault in an investigative report by The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches, which were published over the weekend. Brand denies the claims, and insists his relationships were consensual, and in a video shared on social media, he took aim at the “mainstream media” in a lengthy speech.
Brand presented shows on BBC Radio 6 Music and Radio 2 between 2006 and 2008, before he was sacked after he prank-called Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs and left a lewd voicemail about having sex with the veteran star's granddaughter. At the time the comedian was sacked, Davie was in charge of the BBC’s radio coverage, according to Deadline. Addressing the allegations against the comedian in a Q&A with staff on Tuesday, Davie said he had listened back to Brand’s broadcasts and found them “completely unacceptable.”
Russell Brand was sacked by the BBC in 2008 (BBC)He fired: “What led to that being on air? I just look at that stuff and I say there is no way I will listen to that, there’s no way I accept it. We have to be clear about that together, that we will not accept that.” Davie revealed Peter Johnston, Director of Editorial Complaints and Reviews, will oversee the report into Brand’s conduct at the time, and said they would be investigating any complaints made against the comedian during his time at the BBC.
“We’ll look at any complaints made about Russell Brand’s conduct during his time, what was known at the time, what was done – so full transparency, we’re digging into anything that we’ve got there,” he continued. “I’m hoping for an initial report in weeks, not months. So this is not something we want to take too long (over), but we do want to get to the facts.” Davie then urged staff members to come forward if they had information, and supported the victims who gave “powerful testimony” to reporters.
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BBC boss Tim Davie has promised an investigation into the presenter's time at the broadcaster (ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)“These are very serious allegations. And if you watch that Dispatches programme, like many people will have done, you can’t help be moved by the incredible, powerful testimony,” he shared. One of the women who made allegations against Brand said a car arranged by the BBC took her from school to the star’s house when she was 16, prompting Davie to reveal a further probe into the star’s behaviour at the broadcaster. They will now “look at the position regarding any cars used by the BBC at that time – because that was obviously something that, again, in a powerful testimony, was mentioned,” he added.
Denying all allegations, Brand said: "I've received two extremely disturbing letters or a letter and an email. One from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks, as well as some pretty stupid stuff like community festival should be stopped, that I shouldn't be able to attack mainstream media narratives on this channel.
"But amidst this litany of astonishing rather baroque attacks, often very serious allegations that I absolutely refute. These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream when I was in the newspapers all the time when I was in the movies. And as I've written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.
"Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual. I was always transparent about that. Then almost too transparent, and I'm being transparent about it now as well. And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question, is there another agenda at play?"
If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
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