RUSSELL BRAND - BBC TRUST TO INVESTIGATE BRAND AND ROSS PHONE SCANDAL

BBC TRUST TO INVESTIGATE BRAND AND ROSS PHONE SCANDAL

The BBC's governing body is to investigate the telephone prank that led to the suspension of Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand quitting his radio show.

Some 30,000 complaints have now been received by the corporation over the radio presenters' lewd voicemails to Fawlty Towers actor Sachs in which they joked about having sex with his granddaughter.

Brand stepped down from his Radio 2 show on Wednesday night, after he and Ross were suspended, and inquiries are expected from media watchdog Ofcom, the BBC's director of audio and music, Tim Davie, and the network's governing body, the BBC Trust.

Mr Davie will present a preliminary report on Brand and Ross' prank to the trust before the corporation's director general Mark Thompson briefs trust members on the latest developments in the row.

In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Brand said he accepted "full responsibility" for his actions.

"I have apologised to Andrew Sachs for the rude messages I left on October 18th and he has graciously accepted," he said.

"As I only do the radio show to make people laugh I've decided that given the subsequent coverage I will stop doing the show.

"I got a bit caught up in the moment and forgot that at the core of the rude comments and silly songs were the real feelings of a beloved and brilliant comic actor and a very sweet and big hearted young woman.

"Apologies are also owed to the loyal listeners of the show who enjoyed its shambolic spirit and anarchy and will be upset that it cannot continue."

And Ross said in a statement: "I am deeply sorry and greatly regret the upset and distress that my juvenile and thoughtless remarks on the Russell Brand show have caused."