Russell Brand returns to live radio eight years after Andrew Sachs scandal
The presenter's new Sunday morning show will air weekly on Radio X
Russell Brand is returning to the airwaves live for the first time since his resignation from the BBC, following a prank played on the actor Andrew Sachs on Radio 2 in 2008.
The comedian will host a Sunday morning slot on the digital-only station Radio X – formerly known as Xfm.
“I’m going to be on Radio X – the show will be about joy, unity and togetherness,” Brand said in a statement. “Sorry for any offence in advance.”
His weekly programme will run between 11am and 1pm, starting this Sunday 2 April and featuring Noel Gallagher as his first guest.
The “Sachsgate” scandal in 2008 saw Brand and fellow presenter Jonathan Ross leave messages on the Fawlty Towers actor’s voicemail that referred to his granddaughter and were described as “gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning” by Ofcom, which fined the BBC a record £150,000.
Brand and Radio 2’s controller, Lesley Douglas, both resigned in the wake of the scandal, with Ross later moving to ITV. Both men have since said they regret the incident.
In recent years Brand has moved into political activism, controversially urging the British electorate not to vote on Newsnight in 2013, and more recently provoking complaints for swearing before the watershed on Comic Relief.
Brand is a guest on John Bishop: In Conversation With… tonight, Thursday 30 March at 9pm on W.