RUSSELL BRAND - RADIO 2 CHIEF QUITS OVER BRAND AND ROSS PHONE SCANDAL

RADIO 2 CHIEF QUITS OVER BRAND AND ROSS PHONE SCANDAL

Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas has resigned over the prank call controversy involving Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross.

The BBC's governing body met earlier today to discuss the telephone prank that led to the suspension of Ross and Brand quitting his radio show and now Ms Douglas has become the latest casualty of the affair.

More than 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 presented a preliminary report on Brand and Ross' prank to the trust before the corporation's director general Mark Thompson briefed 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."