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From phone call to suspension in 13 days
Rashid Razaq29 Oct 2008
Thursday 16 October: Brand and Ross leave three crude messages on the answerphone of Andrew Sachs about Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie.
Sachs calls the producer Nic Philps and tells him he finds the messages offensive and does not want them to be broadcast. Sachs says Mr Philps offered to re-do an interview with Brand and cut the offending segment from the show. Sachs tries to call the producer back but hears nothing.
Friday 17 October: The show is approved by Mr Philps and signed off by an unknown senior producer.
Saturday 18 October: The programme is broadcast in full with the three answerphone messages.
Wednesday 22 October: Sachs's agent Meg Pool becomes aware of the broadcast. Sachs listens to an online recording and is upset by the broadcast. Brand is interviewed on the BBC about his new book and says he enjoyed the last show with Jonathan Ross even though he got them in "a lot of trouble".
Thursday 23 October: Ms Pool emails and writes to Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas asking for an apology.
Saturday 25 October: Brand apologises on his radio show for offending Sachs, but adds that it was "funny".
Sunday 26 October: The Mail on Sunday reports the story. The BBC tries to downplay the matter saying only two complaints were made.
Monday 27 October: More than 1,500 complaints have been made and an unnamed BBC spokesman says "We recognise that some of the content broadcast was unacceptable and offensive". Ross sends a letter of apology to Sachs. None of the BBC's senior management speaks out.
Yesterday: Total number of complaints reaches 4,770 by 9am. Tory MP John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons media select committee, criticises director-general Mark Thompson for not speaking out and the BBC's slow response to the public outcry.
Media regulator Ofcom announces an investigation into the show, raising the possibility of a £250,000 fine.
A spokesman for the BBC Trust says its editorial standards committee has requested a report about the affair.
Gordon Brown joins Tory leader David Cameron and Culture Secretary Andy Burnham in criticising the broadcast and calls for an investigation into the BBC's management and procedures.
BBC audio and music director Tim Davie becomes the first senior director to publicly address the issue, saying it is "too early to speculate" on whether Brand or Ross will face action.
Today: Miss Baillie tells The Sun that Brand and Ross should "pay for what they've done with their jobs".
By 10am the number of complaints reaches 18,000. At 11.30am Mr Thompson announces both Ross and Brand have been suspended while an investigation is carried out.
Reader views (1)
How can you some people defend the behaviour of Ross and Brand. Their behaviour was obscene and quite possibly criminal. They have completely missed the mood of the majority of people. I have been a fan of Jonathan Ross and watch his shows, but he completely went over the line in this incident, and he has had some pretty awful incidents to his name in the past too.
The problem with Ross is that he is rich and doesn't care about anyone or anything, he doesn't need the money.
Well maybe he will care when he realises he has lost everyones respect.
A twilight of Bernard Manning proportions awaits him...
He was given an OBE for "services to broadcasting". He has brought that honour into disrepute and should return it.
I am a huge comedy fan, but the behaviour of Ross and Brand is no better than the "youf" of today going round happy slapping or bullying other teenagers.
Maybe they are just mirroring a particular degenerate segment of society, but that element is not to be applauded, it is to be reviled.
The BBC as a publicly funded broadcasting authority should know better, and well done for suspending them both.
We can all hope now that they will be sacked at the conclusion of the investigation, as a clear signal to all in society that this sort of behaviour is not acceptable, and should never be set as an example to others.
If my grandfather had been treated like that I would prosecute the pair of them.
- Anon, Basingstoke, England, 29/10/2008 16:30
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