Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross could face prosecution after obscene on air phone calls to Fawlty Towers actor, 78



The BBC could face prosecution over obscene phone calls that Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand made to 78-year-old Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.



The controversial presenters left a series of lewd messages on Mr Sachs’s answerphone claiming, in shockingly explicit language, that Brand had had sex with his granddaughter, Georgina.

Mr Sachs, who played waiter Manuel in the classic sitcom, was left deeply upset by the crude calls – which were also broadcast to about two million listeners to Brand’s Radio 2 show. And Georgina’s distraught mother, Kate, said last night: ‘It’s awful.’



Obscene: Russell Brand said he slept with the granddaughter of Andrew Sachs during his Radio 2 show. Jonathan Ross, who was co hosting the show, also made lewd comments during calls to the Fawlty Towers actor

Astonishingly, senior BBC executives cleared the offensive messages for broadcast, even though making abusive phone calls is a criminal offence.

Last night, the Corporation faced calls for disciplinary action to be taken against their highly-paid stars, with one Tory MP saying they had ‘overstepped the mark’.

Mr Sachs’s agent said his client had been ‘terribly hurt’ by the comments and had made a formal complaint to the BBC.

The calls about his granddaughter were made during an episode of Brand’s Saturday night Radio 2 programme, co-hosted by Ross to help publicise his new book.

Shortly before they contacted Mr Sachs for a pre-arranged telephone interview, Brand said: ‘In a minute we’re going to be talking to Andrew Sachs, Manuel actor. The elephant in the room is, what Andrew doesn’t know is, I’ve slept with his granddaughter.’

Comedy classic: Mr Sachs as Manuel in Fawlty Towers and, right, pictured with his wife Melody

The comedian then rang Mr Sachs. When the veteran actor didn’t answer his telephone, Brand left a message during which Ross shouted ‘He ****** your granddaughter!’, generating raucous laughter from the studio.

Ross subsequently speculated that Brand had ‘enjoyed’ Georgina on a swing. The pair then decided to ring Mr Sachs again to apologise. When he repeatedly failed to answer, Ross and Brand left three further messages, making the situation worse.

During one message, Brand said: ‘I wore a condom.’ In another, which took the form of an impromptu song, Brand sang: ‘I’d like to apologise for the terrible attacks, Andrew Sachs . . . I said some things I didn’t of oughta, like I had sex with your granddaughter, though it was consensual . . . it was consensual lovely sex. It was full of respect, I sent her a text, I’ve asked her to marry me, Andrew Sachs.’



Ross could be heard singing quietly to himself: ‘Your granddaughter ...she was bent over the couch...’

Later in the programme Brand even joked about the idea that Mr Sachs might consider suicide as a result of their comments.

Imagining a news bulletin, he said: ‘The main news again. Manuel Andrew Sachs hung himself today...’

Brand’s show sometimes goes out live, but the offending episode was prerecorded to fit around Brand and Ross’s other commitments. According to the BBC, ‘a senior editorial figure signed off the programme, including its strong language, before it was broadcast’.



The show, which aired between 9pm and 11pm on October 18, remained on the BBC’s iPlayer website last week, where listeners could hear it again.

Ross, 47, and Brand, 33, are among the BBC’s highest-paid stars. Ross

is paid £6million a year for his TV chat show, Radio 2 show and film review programme, while Brand is thought to be paid a six-figure sum for his weekly radio show.



The pair, who are close friends, are notorious for their use of swear words and have courted controversy throughout their careers. In 2006 Ross caused a storm by asking Conservative leader David Cameron if he had ever had teenage sexual fantasies about former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ‘in stockings’ and referring to a lewd act.

Brand, who once dated Kate Moss, caused outrage in July for making a prank call to Northamptonshire Police, claiming he had spotted a sex attacker. And in 2006, he became embroiled in a public row with Rod Stewart after boasting at an awards ceremony that he had slept with the rocker’s daughter, Kimberly.

During the Radio 2 show in which they offended Mr Sachs, both men also discussed what it would be like to have sex with actress Helen Mirren.



Ross also appeared to breach the terms of his lucrative BBC contract by indicating his support for Labour. He said: ‘I like him [Gordon Brown]. If I could say where I’m going to vote, I’d vote for them. But I can’t say where I’m voting because I’m forbidden by my BBC contract.’

Mr Sachs, who was born in Germany but emigrated to Britain in 1938 to escape the Nazi persecution of Jews, still works regularly on TV and radio, including Radio 4’s spiritual programme Something Understood.

A spokesman for the actor said: ‘Andrew is deeply upset by this and terribly hurt. He can’t understand why it happened and was particularly sorry that they kept leaving messages on his answerphone.’

Last night, Kate said her 23-year-old daughter did not want to comment.

A BBC spokesman said: ‘Two complaints were received regarding Russell Brand’s show on October 18.’ But he would not reveal their content, saying that they were for ‘internal use’.



He added: ‘We are not aware of any complaint being made by

Mr Sachs.’

Anyone found guilty of making malicious or abusive phone calls can be fined or sentenced to up to six months in prison, although a Scotland Yard spokesman said there was no record of Mr Sachs filing a complaint.



Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘I know Jonathan Ross has been handsomely rewarded by the BBC for being rude, inappropriate and as vile as possible, but I would hope that even the BBC would accept he’s overstepped the mark this time.



‘In any other walk of life, anyone who did this type of thing would face serious disciplinary proceedings.

I hope the BBC will consider what consequences there may be if they don’t take him to task for this.’

Last night, Brand, clearly worried about the listener backlash against his phone calls, made a sniggering, mealy-mouthed apology on his show.

He said: ‘It was quite funny, but sometimes you mustn’t swear on someone’s answerphone, and that’s why I’d like to apologise personally.’

But he then replayed the most offensive of last week’s calls, and said: ‘It might not be popular, with its barbershop style, but on the other hand I did rhyme “consensual” with “menstrual”.’

Brand’s spokesman said they had nothing to add to the BBC’s comments, while Jonathan Ross’s agent did not return calls.



