Brand ignored Ross's warnings over *those* calls

Russell Brand has admitted it was his decision to air the rude calls he made to Andrew Sachs – despite being warned against it by Jonathan Ross and staff on his Radio 2 show.

The comic, who resigned from the BBC amid the tabloid-led furore over the ‘Sachsgate’ calls, tries to take the full rap for the scandal in his new memoirs, My Booky Wook 2.

In the book, he confessed: ‘Jonathan said maybe they should be cut out, a few of the crew thought they should be removed. I said I thought they were funny so we decided to leave them in.’

He says Ross again called him as he drove home from the pre-recorded show with concerns over the calls, but the comic persuaded his friend that they were ‘solid’. Ross was suspended from air after the calls was broadcast, and later quit the BBC when his contract was up.

Brand said the media storm that followed the broadcast was ‘madness’, while in his book – serialised in The Sun from today –  he again admits he made a mistake.

‘Now, more than I did at the time, I see how wrong it was to use such a private matters to fuel humour and I hope he and his family know of my regret,’ he wrote.

The repercussions from Sachsgate are still felt two years after the event, with many producers reporting that broadcasters still tread carefully with comedy commissions, for fear of the same sort of media storm again.

Meanwhile, Brand has been warned that his arrest for apparently assaulting a photographer at Los Angeles airport on Friday could harm his immigration status in the US, jeopardising his Hollywood career.

Following the incident, his girlfriend Katy Perry defended him on Twitter, posting: ‘If you cross the line & try an put a lens up my dress, my fiancé will do his job & protect me. #standbyyourman #don't fuck with the Brands.’

And earlier today Brand himself tweeted to his 1.4m followers: ‘Thanks for your sweet messages of support. After the tips I picked up in chokey I'm an infinitely more proficient criminal.’

Yesterday, Brand attended the premier of the family film Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga'Hoole in LA.

Published: 20 Sep 2010