There is news today that at last the police are formally investigating the claims of molestation and worse by Russell Brand.
I must admit that his act, which presumably got him noticed by BBC executives in the first place, and his radio show passed me by. His occasional appearances on the media more broadly repulsed me, but I thought perhaps he had something to offer his new employers which I had not seen. The nasty stunt involving the innocent Andrew Sachs confirmed me in my dislike, though. One did not need to say anything on that occasion as the BBC (rather too slowly) dispensed with his services as a result.
I cannot claim to have spotted him as a wrong 'un, but surely executives closer to him must have been aware that his sexual behaviour went beyond the norms. Just as with Jimmy Savile, they turned a deaf ear to complaints and rumours. Were they part of his in-group, or did they just tolerate him in the mistaken belief that the laddish element among his listeners was more significant than it actually is?
At a time when BBC Radio is awash with repeats as it clearly cannot afford as much original material as it used to produce, and TV's Newsnight is facing cuts to its journalism, savings should rather be made in the ranks of out-of-touch executives.
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