Russell Brand and Andrew Sachs's granddaughter

Sput · Sat 08 Nov, 2008 21.59

A less reasonable person would think you are gloating!

Nini · Sat 08 Nov, 2008 22.16

Sput wrote:A less reasonable person would think you are gloating!

I do.

Sput · Sun 09 Nov, 2008 01.17

So the Guardian's got an interview with Russell Brand tomorrow (or today) and it's pretty interesting reading. Here's an excerpt from the bit everyone will jump to. For me it's totally consistent with what I heard when I listened to the show (before the furore, i.e. while it could actually be heard) The whole article's at http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/no ... -sachsgate

So, what actually happened?

It wasn't that we went: 'Let's ring Andrew Sachs now and boast about having sex with his granddaughter.' It was: 'Oh, he's not there, let's just leave a message', and then: 'Oh, look what we've done now.' There was no malicious intent - it was like an evolving, rolling thing. If you listen, I say sorry more than I say anything offensive - the message is mostly an apology. In fact, it's the acknowledgment of how wrong it was that is the source of the comedy. What's difficult about the whole thing is that it was completely devoid of malice, and there's been a retrospective application of cruelty and intention to cause offence.

This was a prerecorded show. Why did it go out?

The thing was, we were told that Andrew Sachs had okayed it. The grey area is that our brilliant young producer Nic Philps called Andrew Sachs afterwards and said: 'Is it OK, can we use it, do you mind?' And he said, 'Oh yeah, but can you tone it down a bit?' So we did. We took out the more personal stuff. And I don't think it would have happened on a live show, but because it was a prerecord situation it was a little bit more loose. But that doesn't take away from the fact that it was left on his answerphone. The thing that I think was bad is that Andrew is a lovely man; like at the time you don't think: 'Oh, he's 78 years old, this will upset him'. You just think: 'Oh, it's a bit daft.'

Chie · Tue 11 Nov, 2008 20.54

Guess who I spoke to this afternoon.

A liberal, left-wing, die-hard GUARDIAN READER who told me that, in his personal opinion without any prompting from the Daily Mail, Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand should have been sacked.

Sput · Tue 11 Nov, 2008 20.58

Awww bless Chie. There's not a meeting of each side of the political spectrum every morning where they decide what stance to take on the issues of the day. There are plenty of opinions on each side. Anyway, this isn't so much a left/right thing as it is a young/old thing, as far as I can see.

Gavin Scott · Tue 11 Nov, 2008 21.40

Sput wrote:Anyway, this isn't so much a left/right thing as it is a young/old thing, as far as I can see.

Except for the fact that the offensive part was made by a 48 year old.

Its about having an innate sense of what is appropriate and what isn't - and to reiterate, I've done some VERY risqué material on stage for many years.

Brand alluding to something saucy is fine. That's his shtick. That didn't trouble me. Ross' "he fucked your granddaughter" outburst was the bit I found wrong wrong wrong. He crossed the line at that point.

This is not a complex issue, its really very simple. A pre-recorded piece of that nature shouldn't have been broadcast on Radio 2.

I don't know why people are defending it when everyone involved has acknowledged it was a mistake of fairly large proportions.

Sput · Tue 11 Nov, 2008 21.52

Oh he's 48, but if you're appearing on that show you're going to be trying to be cool!

Gavin Scott · Tue 11 Nov, 2008 22.06

Sput wrote:Oh he's 48, but if you're appearing on that show you're going to be trying to be cool!

Is what he said, "cool"?

Sput · Tue 11 Nov, 2008 22.11

I said TRYING to be cool. Don't pretend you don't know what I mean, grandad

No, seriously, it smacks of an out of touch guy acting up to try and be as cool as the risky other performer he's on air with.

My position is currently that it shouldn't have been broadcast, it was intended to be cruel (as I think is obvious from listening to the show) and as that interview says it had this cruelty imprinted upon it retrospectively.

The thing that complicates the "it shouldn't have been broadcast" part (for me) is when the production people clearly didn't totally disregard Sachs' feelings because they took the time to get in touch but they fucked up by misinterpreting his words. They should have pushed for more clarity and that would probably have stopped it being aired.

iSon · Mon 17 Nov, 2008 10.57

Gavin Scott wrote:
Sput wrote:Oh he's 48, but if you're appearing on that show you're going to be trying to be cool!
Is what he said, "cool"?

Apologies but when I read that comment - I couldn't help but think of this wonderful moment from 'The Day Today'

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jlbC77GS0Ak&fmt=18

Charlie Wells · Tue 06 Jan, 2009 08.18

Cue certain tabloids to complain as a date for Ross' return is announced...

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross will return to its regular 10.40pm slot on 23 January, with the presenter fronting his Radio 2 Saturday show for the first time in three months the following day, 24 January, the BBC has confirmed. Ross's other regular BBC1 show, Film 2009, will be back on air the following Monday, 26 January.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/ja ... eturn-date