Sachs: I respect Brand's decision

Actor Andrew Sachs tonight said he respected Russell Brand's decision to quit his BBC Radio 2 show in the row over prank calls made to Sachs by Brand and Jonathan Ross.

Mr Sachs said: "I respect his decision. I hope he moves forward, I really hope he does."

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Mr Sachs, speaking at the door of his home in Kilburn, north London, said: "I can understand him doing it, I hope he finds a better direction, I really wish him well, if he has done that.

"It might be a big turning point in his life."

Asked what he meant by saying it could be a turning point for Brand, Mr Sachs said: "To rethink his whole career, the opportunities are there to move forward.

"Some people have disasters and never advance from that, but he's young, it's an opportunity for him. I tend to think positively about people."

Mr Sachs said he had "no feelings" about whether Jonathan Ross should do the same. He said he would be writing to both men to thank them for the letters that they had sent to him.

Earlier Mr Sachs said he was "not surprised" Ross and Brand had been suspended by the BBC over their prank calls to him.

And he confirmed he was not planning to take the matter up with the police.

He said the pair had got it "badly wrong" and made a "poor team", but he was not seeking revenge.