No disciplinary action was taken against comic while he worked there

The BBC has said it received five complaints about Russell Brand's behaviour while he hosted radio shows between 2006 and 2008.

Two of these have been made since the star was publicly accused of rape and sexual assault in September, allegations he has strenuously  denied. And the new complaints are said to be ‘not of a serious sexual nature’.

The broadcaster launched its own investigation after the comedian was accused of assault via reports in Channel 4’s Dispatches and Times Newspapers.

One of those claims was that Brand had teenage girls driven to his home via BBC cars. But an  interim report from the BBC's director of editorial complaints and reviews, Peter Johnston, found that records of car bookings from that time were no longer available. However, he said that investigations are continuing. 

The BBC’s investigation has found claims about his wider behaviour towards women and co-workers. 

In his update released today, Johnston said the review was ‘not a straightforward task’ as at the time of Brand’s employment  the BBC ‘did not maintain a centralised record of staff complaints regarding bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment’.

He explained: ‘Although my work is in no way complete and therefore I cannot yet reach any conclusions, it would appear that no disciplinary action was taken against Russell Brand during his engagement with the BBC in 2006- 2008.’

In addition to the complaints about Brand’s conduct, Johnston said: ‘It is also clear from audience feedback that there was a wider concern about the tone and content of some of Russell Brand's shows’, adding that  he would consider whether they should have ‘raised alarms within the BBC’.

He said: ‘Following recent media reporting, we have undertaken significant work to identify what complaints or allegations were made to the BBC about Russell Brand’s conduct. 

‘We have established that some complaints and concerns were raised. It would not be appropriate for me to reach any conclusions until I am satisfied all lines of enquiry have been exhausted. In particular, we are concerned to ensure that anyone who has relevant information has the opportunity to speak to us.’

As well as the two recent complaints, two were made while Brand was employed by the BBC, and repeated after he left. Another – reportedly concerning Brand exposing himself to a woman at a BBC building in Los Angeles, was first raised in 2019.

Brand has said that he may have been promiscuous at the peak of his fame, but his relationships were ‘always consensual’. The star has said he ‘absolutely refutes… extremely egregious and aggressive attacks’ on his character

The Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police are also investigating him, as are Channel 4 and the makers of Big Brother's Big Mouth, which he hosted

The BBC’s investigators can be contacted at  bbc.investigation.service@bbc.co.uk

Published: 14 Nov 2023