The BBC conducted an internal review into Russell Brand’s time as a presenter for them (Image: Getty)
The has has issued and apology to staff members who felt unable to raise concerns about ‘s behaviour while he worked at the corporation following an internal review into his time as a presenter for Radio 2 and 6 Music between 2006 and 2008.
The investigation was launched after several women came forward in 2023 and accused the actor and comedian of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse. Brand has denied all allegations and said all his relationships were “always consensual”.
Their investigation focused on eight complaints, two of which were made while he worked for the corporation.
One of the complaints, which related to him urinating into a cup during a Radio 2 show, had been formally registered at the time. However the report has admitted it was “not dealt with effectively”.
The report, published on thursday (January 30) noted “only one formal complaint was made about Brand’s inappropriate conduct in the workplace” during his period working for the broadcaster and said there was “no evidence that his behaviour was raised with management formally at the time”.
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Russell Brand has presented shows for both BBC and Channel 4 (Image: Getty)
It also stated that Brand was “perceived to be too influential” for staff to complain about. Acknowledging the complaint that was made it stated: “It is clear that there were other concerns but those involved felt unable or unwilling to raise these at the time as they felt the concerns would not be taken seriously and the systems for making complaints were not as clear as they are now”.
“There should have been better systems in place to ensure that Brand’s unacceptable behaviour was promptly picked up and addressed,” it added.
The review also investigated a claim Brand had consensual sex with a competition winner from his 6 Music show on premises finding it to be true.
The person involved spoke to the review team and said that while the exchange was consensual, they felt “Brand had abused his position and taken advantage of them”.
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Russell Brand was spotted heading to Donald Trump’s inauguration recently (Image: Andy Stenning/Reach)
The are the second broadcaster to look into Brand’s behaviour following Channel 4’s investigation of their former presenter.,
They released their nternal review findings in March 2024 and the channel boss apologised to a former employee after the probe found it had not investigated a “serious” complaint they made against Brand back in 2009.
Brand has been interviewed three times by police since September 2023, which is when news of the allegations broke. In November 2024, the Metropolitan Police sent the Crown Prosecution Service a file of evidence, but prosecutors have not yet decided whether to bring charges.
Although no longer on TV screens Brand has developed a huge online following. While he has been keeping a relatively low profile other than his online videos he did make on Jauary 20.