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Naughty Phone Prank Brings Down BBC Stars
British radio and TV personality Russell Brand resigned yesterday after he and colleague Jonathan Ross made an obscene phone call to actor Andrew Sachs that was later aired on Brand's BBC radio program.
(By Matt Cardy -- Getty Images)
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"What's funny about humiliating a lovely old man who has never harmed anyone in his life," Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie, 23, told the Sun. Baillie said she had a short relationship with Brand after they were introduced in 2006 but now feels "utterly exposed and betrayed" by him.
The Sun reported that Baillie had "tried out" to be one of its topless "Page 3" models before starting a career as a burlesque performer in a "tongue-in-cheek troupe called Satanic Sluts."
Sachs, who played the hapless Spanish waiter, Manuel, on "Fawlty Towers," said he appreciated the apologies he had received from the two men but said they needed to apologize to his granddaughter.
Despite widespread speculation in the media that Brand and Ross could be prosecuted for harassment, Sachs said he was "not out for revenge."
Much of the public anger this week has been directed at the BBC, particularly when it was revealed that the offending show had been recorded in advance. That meant the prank call was not a momentary lapse on live radio but had been approved by someone up the BBC chain of command.
The world's largest broadcasting network, funded by taxpayers, has a special place in British public life. Once a dowdy and conservative operation known affectionately as "Auntie," the BBC has come in for fierce criticism in recent years as it has modernized its programming.
In his apology, Brand said he hoped his departure would quell the latest storm to hit the broadcaster.
"I take complete responsibility and offer nothing but love and contrition, and I hope that now Jonathan and the BBC will endure less forensic wrath," he said, signing off with, "Hare Krishna."
