So Jonathon Ross and Russell Brand have gotten themselves into hot water over a juvenile prank call to Manuel from Faulty Towers of all people, but does their poor judgement warrant the media frenzy that has erupted?

Well I'm not so sure - and just so you know where I am coming from I have always been a fan of Mr Ross, not so much Mr Brand - I certainly think the BBC should take some form of action, not only against the two stars, but also against the numpty that listened to the pre-recorded show and thought it was acceptable to broadcast. However does the PM really need to be wading into the argument, has he not got more pressing matters to be concerning him self with at the moment?

What do you think?

I think it's the arrogance of the BBC that's being called into question. You can't blame Brand and Ross - I love them both - because the BBC hired them to be edgy. It's the producers who broke the rules by not get Andrew Sachs' permission before they called him.

But I agree there are more important things for the PM to worry about at the mo. And really, on the news yesterday I didn't want to see a load of blue-rinsed ladies being asked their view as they queued outside the BBC to see some free middle-of-the-road TV show. How can their view add anything to the debate?

I think people are getting angry because the Beeb gets money chucked at it and is not accountable to anyone - even thinks it's above the law - whereas independent TV has to clear everything it does first.

I agree with STuart Murphy - they've apologised for over stepping the line but they are mavericks and that's why we love them.

From what i've read about it, the phone calls were abusive and malicious. Brand and Ross could be prosecuted; they - and of course the producers ('numpties'- love that!)should certainly be subject to some sort of disciplinary action. It was an appalling thing to do. In the meantime, the BBC have apologized - though maybe not quickly enough, and maybe that isn't enough. I don't know.

However, I don't know what GB said about it, but he is an A grade jerk, and i suspect he's using this as an opportunity to get one over on the BBC. Whatever internal problems there may be with the BBC, i think it's one - the biggest maybe - safeguard of our democracy. Where else in the world can you hear politicians being called to account (ok - savaged!) by the likes of John Humphreys every morning at seven o'clock. Which is why power hungry jerks like GB, and those like him in the govt, want to gag it, of course.

Yay, Poppy! You go girl!

I'm ranting again, aren't I?

sigh

I think a line has been crossed because it was in effect a malicious series of calls - and a personal attack. There is all the difference between an edgy sketch aimed at someone in the public eye who has in a sense set themselves up for it and calling up someone's grandfather - who is no longer in the public eye- and boasting that you have 'slept with' their granddaughter.

Not big or clever and as far as Ross is concerned incredibly stupid because he has in effect declared open season on his own daughters...

Yes of course it is ammunition to attack the BBC - it has become a witch hunt and you can bet that the unfortunate producers who let it go through will lose their jobs - not Brand and Ross.

Also anyone who is conspicuously earning a fortune in the current climate is open to attack - I'm not sure it justifies all the political capital being made out of it - anything that places further curbs on the BBC has to be a bad thing and Ross and Brand are IMO culpable for their lack of judgement - it is a borderline criminal offence- presumably if they knew they had gone too far either or both could have asked for it to be edited out.

Sarah

I think they're both a pair of complete jerks. There's edgy, in a Chris Morris sort of way, and then there are over grown schoolboys behaving like twats, like those two. I must admit, I've long cringed over JR's way of speaking to women.

<Added>

Great title for the thread, Kristian!

What gets me (*rant* warning) is that Jonathan Ross is paid £6 MILLION pounds a year by the BBC for his various shows and appearances. And I think what he and Brand did was totally jerkish and childish. Particularly to Andrew Sachs, a lovely man - and an elderly one.
Susiex

But what I'm saying is that if you listen to those two they are like that. You shouldn't be surprised when you invite a pair of wolves round for tea that they end up devouring all the chickens.

Yes, I'm with susie on this, and am one of the 10,000+ complainees to the Beeb. When someone is paid £18M over a 3yr contract you expect a high degree of professionalism from them, which was sorely lacking during that programme.
One expects such behaviour from Russell Brand - as displayed during a recent award ceremony when he blurted out about sleeping with some famous person's (who's name escapes me) daughter, who was sitting in the audience and was certainly not amused. It's a shame Russell did not learn from that experience. In his case I blame the BBC who thought he would be a suitable presenter for a 6pm Radio 2 show, when his Brand of humour is more suited to 10pm on C4.

If the lovely Julien Clary could implode his career with the notorious Lamont joke, then the same should happen to Ross and Brand.


- NaomiM

<Added>

correction, that should have been 9pm, not 6pm.

But what I'm saying is that if you listen to those two they are like that. You shouldn't be surprised when you invite a pair of wolves round for tea that they end up devouring all the chickens.

Absolutely agree. My question is, why invite them round in the first place - and pay them £6M plus for doing it?
Susiex

And paying their top presenters millions of pounds when everyone else at the Beeb are having to accept pay cuts, is obscene.
There is no excuse for school-boy style abusive phone calls. If they can't do the job - and they have proved themselves to be untrustworthy when in front of a mike/camera - they should be sacked.

They've been suspended.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7696714.stm

Friday's edition of Ross's chat show, due to feature guests Frank Skinner and Miley Cyrus, has been cancelled.

More than 18,000 people have complained to the BBC.

Yay!

I do think it is interesting that 1500 people felt compelled to complain upon hearing the show in question, but the figure now stands at 18K +. Presumably these people feel they would have been offended had they actually been listening at the time! That's probably not fair, but I am sure that a not insignificant number have complained purely because of the media whirlwind that has blown up.

And again I ask, why will the Gordon Brown be fielding questions about it on PM's question time?