BBC apologises for culture of silence over Russell Brand

The BBC has apologised to staff who felt they could not speak up with concerns about Russell Brand's behaviour because he was seen as "too influential" and they felt he "would always get his way and therefore they stayed silent".

The apology came as the BBC published the findings of an internal review into Brand's time as a presenter for BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music between 2006 and 2008.

The investigation considered eight complaints, two of which were made while he worked for the corporation.

One of those, which related to him urinating into a cup and behaving aggressively during his Radio 2 show, was registered formally at the time, and the BBC has now admitted it was "not dealt with effectively".

The BBC launched the investigation after separate allegations in 2023 from several women who accused the 49-year-old actor and comedian of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse.

Brand has denied all allegations and said his relationships were "always consensual".

Thursday's report found that "only one formal complaint was made about Brand's inappropriate conduct in the workplace" during his stint on air, and beyond that there was "no evidence that his behaviour was raised with management formally at the time".

But the BBC acknowledged that Brand was "perceived to be too influential" for staff to complain about.

Many of those interviewed for the internal investigation "believed, rightly or wrongly, that Russell Brand would always get his way and therefore they stayed silent", the report said. They also believed he "had the support of the station management".

While one informal complaint was also made, the report said "it is clear that there were other concerns but those involved felt unable or unwilling to raise these at the time as they felt the concerns would not be taken seriously and the systems for making complaints were not as clear as they are now".

Commenting on the report, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the complaints were "horrendous".

"As is the fact that staff felt unable to raise concerns because they did not think that they would be believed or taken seriously," she said.

She added that the BBC must "take action to reassure its staff and the wider public that it takes these issues seriously".

"For too long, there has been a culture of silence in the media industry where inappropriate behaviour like Brand's has been tolerated or downplayed. Power imbalances and a perception that certain stars cannot be challenged are sadly not unique to this case."

The review also found that Brand had consensual sex with a competition winner from his 6 Music show on BBC premises.

Speaking to the review team, that person said that while what happened was consensual, they now felt "Brand had abused his position and taken advantage of them".

The report added that there were "management failings" and "there should have been better systems in place to ensure that Brand's unacceptable behaviour was promptly picked up and addressed".

Channel 4, where Brand also worked as a presenter, released its own internal review findings in March 2024. Its boss apologised to a former employee after the probe found it had not investigated a "serious" complaint made against the star in 2009.

Brand has been interviewed three times by police since September 2023.

In November 2024, the Metropolitan Police sent the Crown Prosecution Service a file of evidence, but prosecutors have not yet decided whether to bring charges.

A BBC employee made a formal complaint to a manager in 2007 after Brand urinated into a cup in the Radio 2 studio, and then threw objects in anger when one of the production team made a mistake during a second show.

The report said it was likely that this was then raised verbally with the Radio 2 controller at the time, Lesley Douglas, although she does "not recall these concerns ever being raised with her".

Douglas denied that Brand ever sought to exercise any influence over her, and said her relationship with him similar to that she had with other presenters on the station.

The BBC made light of the 2007 incident in a press response at the time, the report said, when a spokesperson told the Independent that Brand had urinated in a cup "and someone has shown him where the toilet is".

"Regrettably this incident was not taken seriously at this time," the report said.

Another staff member said they had raised concerns informally about Brand's conduct in 2006 and 2007, the report said.

Someone else alleged that Brand "tucked his fingers down their trousers and underwear and pulled them towards him" in a corridor while on set of a BBC radio production, but did not complain at the time.

Staff members who were "most closely" involved in his shows described his behaviour in general as "promiscuous or out-of-control", but said they did not "witness anything non-consensual or potentially illegal".

Another complaint was made to the BBC about an incident in Los Angeles in 2008.

Brand is alleged to have followed "Olivia" into a bathroom and shown his penis to her moments before he began pre-recording his radio show.

The woman, who was not a BBC employee but worked in the same building, did not complain at the time, thinking "she would not be believed".

The report found no evidence of anyone in BBC management being aware of Olivia's experience at the time.

In 2019, a BBC News staff member raised the incident with their line manager after Olivia confirmed she wanted to take the matter further.

"It is likely those involved in escalating the complaint in 2019 felt that there was nothing that could be done as it was over ten years later," the report said.

It concluded that the complaint process was "inadequate", as was the handling of the 2019 complaint, and the BBC has apologised to Olivia.

Another of the complaints in the report was made by a woman named Alice, who said a car provided by the BBC for Brand collected her and took her to his house when he was in his 30s and she was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.

The report concluded that it was not able to verify these claims but it was "unlikely that the cars described by Alice were chauffeur-driven BBC cars or BBC management cars".

The report, and Alice, agree that if Brand did "persuade a taxi or mini-cab pre-booked on his behalf by the BBC to make these journeys, it's likely to have been done without the knowledge of the BBC staff who booked his cars for him in advance".

The review cost £662,062 and was conducted by the BBC's director of editorial complaints and reviews, Peter Johnston.

He added: "The processes for raising any concerns were also not as developed as they are now.

"In the intervening years the BBC has introduced other mechanisms and routes for staff to raise concerns."