Russell Brand said he would have done nothing differently over the prank calls he and Jonathan Ross made to Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs - saying the scandal "worked out really well".

No regrets: Russell Brand

Brand resigned from his Radio 2 show, which broadcast the lewd remarks made by Brand and Ross, and Ross was suspended for three months over the affair.

The incident in October last year sparked a frenzy of more than 40,000 complaints, numerous apologies and a clampdown on the BBC's compliance rules.

In April, Ofcom fined the BBC £150,000 over the lewd phone calls, describing them as "gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning".

Brand, 34, has been carving out a Hollywood career and is developing a re-make of the Dudley Moore comedy Arthur, the boozy tale of a wayward playboy.

He is also dating 25-year-old singer Katy Perry, who recently wore a West Ham United-themed outfit in homage to her boyfriend at the MTV European Music Awards, with Brand's nickname "Rusty" embroidered on the backside of her knickers.

Speaking to New! magazine, Brand also said the situation might have turned out differently if Sachs had answered his calls - adding: "It isn't that hard to pick up a phone."

He was asked if he had put "Sachsgate" behind him.
Brand replied: "I would have done nothing differently. I think it worked out really well.

"I am really happy with what I am doing now - happy in my personal life and happy with my professional life.

"I apologised for the thing I did wrong to the person I did it wrong to.

"But it would have been nice if Andrew Sachs had answered his phone in retrospect.

"He would have been a good guest because then maybe the radio show would still be going if he had answered his phone, you know?

"No one ever mentions that side of things. They're very quick to condemn me, but it isn't that hard to pick up a phone."

Asked if he and Ross laughed about the episode now, Brand said: "We don't laugh about it, no. We have moved on. We don't really talk about it."

Brand was also asked about comedians Jimmy Carr and Frankie Boyle who have come under fire recently for making near-the-knuckle gags.

Brand said: "Yes, I have heard those jokes. They are good jokes, I thought. I think Frankie Boyle is brilliant, Jimmy Carr is brilliant.

"The people that are going: 'This is offensive,' know that it's not. There is no actual reality to anything - no one is actually being offended.

"Possibly, if you hear it delivered cold like vomit into the nape of your neck, it might be offensive.

"But when it is mucking around, I don't think it is offensive.

"Is it bad for comedy if comedians can't say what they want any more?

"I think if they couldn't, it would be. But I ain't afraid and I don't give a toss!"

Asked what he was up to at the moment, Brand said: "Well, I'm filming Arthur then I'm doing another film, and then another film.

"I am doing stand-up. I am doing things where I can do what I like."

Brand said he was staying out of trouble nowadays, saying: "I can't think of anything that is remotely scandalous that I have been involved in of late."

He said of life with his American pop star girlfriend: "I have never felt more settled and happy."

But he told the magazine that the couple have no plans to work together.

He said: "No, no plans. I mean, what would we do? I am a comedian, she is a singer - I don't know."

He later added: "We could host something, right. Perhaps we will start up a banquet."

Brand said that despite putting his London house on the market, he is not planning a permanent move to Los Angeles, saying: "I will stay living in London, but I'll be in LA sometimes, too."

The full interview appears in the latest issue of New! magazine.