Jonathan Ross is to return to a presenting role on Radio 2, six years after the Sachsgate scandal which led to him being suspended from the air and eventually leaving the BBC.

The presenter, who has since been given an ITV chat show, will be back on air on the station at the end of this month as he provides a week of holiday cover for Steve Wright’s programme.

A station spokesman said it was a “one-off stint” and there were no plans for a permanent return.

Ross left the station mired in controversy when he appeared on his friend Russell Brand’s show in 2008 and the pair were heard to leave lewd messages on the answerphone of veteran actor Andrew Sachs.

It prompted 42,000 complaints and led to the departure of senior BBC figures, including the station’s controller. Brand resigned and Ross was suspended from broadcasting his own Saturday morning show for three months, as well as his BBC1 chat show.

Although Ross returned to Radio 2 when his ban was up, he left the BBC 18 months later when his contract came to an end.

He has appeared on a number of BBC programmes since, including recent slots on Don’t Make Me Laugh and Just A Minute on Radio 4, his stand-in role for Wright from 26 to 29 August will be his first presenting role on Radio 2 since his departure.

A BBC spokesman said: “Jonathan is returning for this one-off stint of holiday cover for Steve Wright. There are no plans to bring him back permanently.

“Jonathan is an experienced and talented broadcaster who presented on Radio 2 for 10 years and was very popular with our audience. He is standing in for Steve Wright while he is on holiday and we hope listeners will enjoy listening to him on the network for these few days.”

Sachs’s wife Melody has been critical of the decision to hire Ross, telling the Daily Mail: “It’s very sad and thoughtless and disrespectful.”