Ofcom to investigate offensive phone calls to Sachs
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Russell Brand late night Radio 1 show on Thursday 16 October became the subject of controversy when he and fellow guest made a lewd prank call to actor Andrew Sachs. Complaints over the incident reached 55,000 and led to the sacking of Brand, the suspension of Ross and a series of sackings and resignations at the BBC.
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Ofcom said today it would investigate the offensive phone calls made by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand to veteran actor Andrew Sachs.
The calls, made for a BBC radio show, involved a claim that Brand had slept with the Fawlty Towers actor's granddaughter Georgina Baillie, 23.
The presenters also joked that the actor might kill himself as a result.
Ross, 47, has since issued a personal apology, with Brand, 33, following suit.
A spokeswoman for the media watchdog, which has received complaints about the incident, confirmed Ofcom has decided to investigate.
Sources also said today that a senior editorial figure signed off the pre-recorded Radio 2 programme.
Pressure has been mounting for the BBC to take further action over the incident, which the corporation has apologised for.
The Daily Mail reported that that a young producer named Nic Philps had been given the responsibility of calling Sachs to check if he would be happy for the messages to go out.
But a source also said that an un-named senior figure gave the broadcast the go-ahead.
The BBC received more than 1,500 complaints, including phone calls and emails, and there have been calls for the pair to taken off air or sacked.
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