The BBC has apologised to staff as part of a review into the conduct of Russell Brand during his time with the broadcaster.
The internal review was ordered after a joint investigation by The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches revealed in September 2023 that four women had accused him of sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013.
The actor and comedian, 49, denies the accusations, and previously said all his sexual relationships were “absolutely always consensual”. He told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a YouTube interview that the claims were “very, very hurtful”.
Published on Thursday, the BBC investigation has now found a number of people “felt unable to raise” concerns about the presenter and believed “Russell Brand would always get his way and therefore they stayed silent”.
Brand worked for the BBC between 2006 to 2008, when he hosted a show on Radio 2 alongside Jonathan Ross until both presenters were suspended over the Andrew Sachs voicemail row. The comedian subsequently resigned, while Ross later returned to presenting BBC TV and radio shows.
The BBC’s complaints director Peter Johnston said he had investigated eight complaints about Brand. Just two were raised while the comedian worked at the BBC, with only one of those lodged formally.
Mr Johnston said he and his team approached 72 people and interviewed 39 as part of their review, and “have spoken directly to all of those who raised concerns” about Brand’s behaviour.
He said: “I am grateful to those who have come forward to talk to me and my team, and I have apologised on behalf of the BBC to those most directly affected by what I have documented here.
“The culture of the time undoubtedly influenced what was acceptable/tolerated, but I have found that a number of individuals had concerns about Russell Brand’s behaviour which they felt unable to raise then.
“Many interviewees believed, rightly or wrongly, that Russell Brand would always get his way and therefore they stayed silent – and I note here that the one complaint that was made in 2007 was not dealt with effectively when it was made.
“The processes for raising any concerns were also not as developed as they are now. In the intervening years the BBC has introduced other mechanisms and routes for staff to raise concerns.”
In response to the report – which has cost more than £662,000, including nearly £600,000 on legal fees – the BBC said: “The review considered eight complaints of misconduct about Russell Brand, only two of which were made while he was engaged by the BBC, one formally and one informally.
“It is of great concern that some of these individuals felt unable to raise concerns about Russell Brand’s behaviour at the time, and the BBC has apologised to them as part of this review.
“It is also clear that there were compliance inadequacies on some of Russell Brand’s Radio 2 shows which led to content being aired that would not be broadcast today.”
It added: “There is an ongoing police investigation into Russell Brand. The BBC has been in contact with the Metropolitan Police throughout the review and they have seen the report. The BBC acknowledges that Russell Brand categorically denies all public allegations made against him.”
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to bring charges.
The sole formal complaint flagged in the BBC review was made by an employee to a manager in 2007, after Brand allegedly urinated into a cup and bottle on two occasions while recording his Radio 2 show.
The report notes the BBC appeared to make light of the incident in a press response at the time to The Independent, in which a spokesperson said that “someone has shown him [Brand] where the toilet is”. The report states: “Regrettably, this incident was not taken seriously at this time.”
As part of the internal review, the BBC also spoke to a woman who alleged that, in 2008, Brand had followed her into a bathroom in the corporation’s Los Angeles bureau and exposed his penis, before joking about the incident on air minutes later.
An informal complaint was made in 2008, followed by a formal complaint in 2019.
The review found that the woman – referred to by the pseudonym “Olivia” – had decided not to pursue the matter further in 2008 as she thought she would not be believed.
Mr Johnston wrote: “I have been told that the incident was fairly common knowledge in the LA Bureau of the BBC at the time and over subsequent years. I have heard it was often ‘joked about’, which is unacceptable for something so serious.”
The formal complaint was made in 2019 after a BBC News staff member working in LA learned about the alleged incident from colleagues and asked Olivia if she would like to take the matter further, at which point managers were informed.
But Mr Johnston’s review found both the compliance process prior to the airing of the prerecorded 2008 radio episode, and the BBC’s handling of the 2019 complaint, were inadequate.
The report noted that the few people spoken to who were most closely involved with Brand’s radio shows described him “as promiscuous or out-of-control, but said that they did not witness anything non-consensual or potentially illegal, nor did they make complaints about this at the time”.
One person told the BBC they had a sexual encounter with Brand in a disabled toilet while visiting the BBC after winning a competition on Radio 6. They told the investigation that, while the encounter had been consensual, they felt Brand had “abused his position and taken advantage of them”.
