Russell Brand Quits BBC, Heads To America

It’s all over for the goth dandy at the BBC! After what’s being dubbed “Sachsgate” literally dominated the British headlines for a week — and complaints rose to 27,000 — Russell Brand last night dramatically quit his BBC Radio 2 show. Earlier that day, he and fellow presenter Jonathan Ross (whose $29 million deal with the BBC has come under fire) had been suspended pending further enquiries into the incident. It saw them leave lewd messages on 78-year-old actor Andrew Sachs‘ voicemail after Russell bragged about sleeping with his granddaughter Georgina Baillie, a member of burlesque group the Satanic Sluts

“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,” Brand said in a statement. “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.”

But don’t feel too sorry for him for nobly falling on his sword. “I’m now off to American to make quite a lot of films,” he said, yesterday. Lock up your granddaughters. [Photo: Getty Images]