BBC bosses could not ignore the one story which has this week 
hijacked all major global news stories in the British media – the revolting Brand-Ross prank call.
It displaced the credit crunch, the Peter Mandelson/George Osborne Corfu scandal and , as well as the looming American presidential elections, from the front pages of our national newspapers. It caused a national outrage.
The unprecedented furore which ensued led to the resignation of Russell Brand – already suspended, along with Jonathan Ross, the £18 million highest paid star in BBC history, who apologised for his "juvenile and thoughtless remarks" in phone calls which the two entertainers made to Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.
They involved lurid sexual comments about Sachs’ granddaughter Georgina Baillie, Brand’s former lover, which the 
two irresponsible men left on Sach’s answerphone, and was later played on Brand’s Radio 2 programme for millions of listeners. The content can be read here.
And boy, did the listeners complain; 27,000 of them voiced their outrage. Yet amazingly, the prerecorded show was passed by a senior BBC executive as fit to broadcast three days before it went out on air.
My guess is that the producer went along with it because it was too close to deadline, he didn’t want the inconvenience of scrapping it all and starting again from scratch. He also totally misinterpreted its viewers’ strong reaction. And, of course, Brand and Ross thought they were God and could get away with anything.
Sorry guys, but this cheap joke is going to cost you dear. It’s time you showed respect to women too, as well as your listeners.
So Wossy,, as a father of two daughters, how would you like it if this gag had been played on you? Would you be laughing?
It might now be pay back time for Wossy, who once boasted he was ‘worth 1,000 BBC journalists’ after a wave of mass redundancies had been announced. What goes round, comes round, and the BBC can employ a few more journalists….
But now, it’s surely time to focus on other important matters of the day which will affect all our lives.
I’ve already put a word in with my agent!
That’s the best news I’ve had for a long time. Despite the BBC dragging it’s heels, hoping it would go away, they finally had to listen to the public.
the young listners dont think they were out of order and its because they take risks that they get so many listeners…. some would say if you dont like them turn the radio off !!
I am sure that i heard on the radio that at the time it went on air they hardly got any complaints .
I totally agree it was disgusting what they did, and I wouldn;t like it, the BBC are also at fault for broadcasting it, seeing that it was pre recorded….they should of stopped it!!!
I read this comment on the post about the granddaughter..and this is from a female.
Oh come on – this girl is a burlesque dancer with a ground called the Satanic Sluts, an aspiring page 3 girl. I am sure she is DEVASATED about the publicity she is getting.
It doesn;t account for their disgusting behaviour at all, to either her grandfather or her..they are paying for their so called joke,so lets just leave it.
I think there are far more important things going on in this country to worry about. Why did government have to get involved…could they not just have sorted it out.
sally,
“some would say if you dont like them turn the radio off !!”
If this were Channel 4, I’d accept that argument. But as we’re forced, by law to pay for the BBC in order to watch other channels, we have a stake in their output.
Brand had to resign after I left my message of complaint with the BBC. I ended it thus:
“… and if you don’t deem this a serious enough offence, warranting their suspension, then you won’t mind if I tell you to go f*** yourselves.”
I dared them to prosecute me.
(Brand will be embraced by the luvvies and a revitalised career beckons elsewhere.)
“Oh come on – this girl is a burlesque dancer with a ground called the Satanic Sluts, an aspiring page 3 girl. I am sure she is DEVASATED about the publicity she is getting”.
Fair point Anne but it doesn’t excuse the behaviour.
Electro Kevin, Both Brand & Ross will re-appear somewhere else shortly. Could be the saviours for Michael Grade.
‘@ Jeremy…I did say that it doesn’t account for their disgusting behaviour..it was just a comment I read from another article in a newspaper.
It was totally unacceptable, the Beeb let itself down, but hey, let’s move on.
Yes, let’s move on.
Totally agree Ellee..lets all move on!
So will Russell Brand be auditioning as the eleventh Doctor Who now?
Happy Samhain Ellee!
lol Elle, I guess there has to be a limit somewhere about how personal & distasteful one can get ‘live’ on cheap radio (or tv) before they pull the plug – no matter how famous one is.
Ironically for every person who phoned to complain, I’m sure there are at least thought it was funny – humour is a funny thing.
It may not have been in the best possible taste but what is astonishing about this story is people’s ridiculous reaction to it. After all how many people actually listened to the show? It was on air two weeks before this furore- whipped up by the Daily Mail naturally, preferred read of small minds everywhere- hit the press. Less than twenty people complained when it was actually aired- and yet a further 30,000 felt the need to phone in an say they were upset by something they hadn’t actually listened to. Hysteria anyone…? The Mail itself gets away with printing its xenophobic nonsense everyday and doesn’t seem to face the same kind of outrage after all.
You last sentence was the best one in your article. Where’s our sense of proportion?
This has been headline news for almost a week. What about Iraq, Congo, credit crunch, knife crime etc etc.
As for the BBC’s reaction to this affair, we can now wave goodbye to any sort of innovative or new comedy on the BBC, and meet and greet more Bruce Forsyth type humour to please the Middle England wifeswappers.
http://www.the-comedy-writer.com
I agree it was unacceptable but there is delicious irony in being called amoral by a satanic slut.
This link might give a little more insight into Jonathan Ross as a person. I think his pay is ridiculous. As a presenter however, he’s brilliant. If he interviews a guest who can’t take it he changes style to accommodate, with Ricky Gervais its all out.
http://forums.facepunchstudios.com/showthread.php?t=549006
I don’t think he’s a malicious man. A large public charity donation to children in need may well help his current public image.