Russell Brand allegations show how ‘terrible behaviour towards women was tolerated’ in TV, says Channel 4 boss
Channel 4’s chief executive has described the allegations made against Russell Brand as “horrendous” and said it is clear that “terrible behaviour towards women was historically tolerated” in the TV industry.
Alex Mahon made the comments about Brand as she addressed the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention, scheduled before the allegations of sexual assault emerged at the weekend.
Some of the claims date back to when the comedian was presenting the Big Brother spin-off programme Big Brother’s Big Mouth on Channel 4.
Brand, 48, denies any allegations made against him.
Mahon told the audience at the convention that the alleged behaviour, made public in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches, needs to be looked into further.
She urged people with any information to get in touch anonymously if they want to.
“They’re not empty words or gestures,” she said, adding that the broadcaster will look to find out who knew what about any alleged inappropriate behaviour during Brand’s time on the show.
Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon at the RTS Cambridge Convention. Pic: Richard Kendal/RTS
“But what is clear to me is that terrible behaviour towards women was historically tolerated in our industry, and the clips we’ve seen as well provide a rather shocking jolt when one realises what appeared on air not that long ago,” she said.
“The behaviour is less prevalent now, but it’s still a problem and it’s something that we must all confront. There is still more change that needs to come.”
She added: “The allegations made against Russell Brand are horrendous, and as a CEO of Channel 4 and as a woman in our industry.
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“I found the behaviours described in Dispatches and The Sunday Times and The Times articles disgusting and saddening.
“The allegations of course need to be followed up further, and we and the BBC and Banijay [a production company] are busy investigating.”
BBC general director, Tim Davie, who was also speaking at the event, said there needed to be an “important dialogue around the deep imbalances of power” within the television industry.
BBC director-general Tim Davie on stage at the RTS Cambridge Convention. Pic: Richard Kendal/RTS
“I think there’s a deep responsibility for the leaders. The culture needs to be one of trust,” he added.
“There has been deep problems with misogyny, abuse of power, and we just have to be utterly vigilant – be unaccepting of it.”
BBC and Channel 4 remove Brand content
Four women made sexual abuse allegations against the star between 2006 and 2013 as part of the investigation by The Sunday Times and Dispatches.
Brand, who denies the allegations, claimed in a video posted online on Friday night that all his relationships have been “consensual”.
The Metropolitan Police said it received an allegation of sexual assault against Russell Brand dating back to 2003 following the publication of the claims.
On Tuesday, Mr Davie announced a review into Brand’s time at the corporation.
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TV exec: Brand allegations ‘depressing’
The announcement came hours after the broadcaster removed some of its content featuring Brand from iPlayer and BBC Sounds.
TV production firm Banijay UK, owners of Endemol, which produced Big Brother and its spin-offs, confirmed over the weekend that it had launched an investigation.
YouTube also suspended adverts on videos by Brand, while Channel 4 took down content featuring the comedian from its streaming service.
The Google-owned company said it had suspended the monetisation of Brand’s channel for “violating our Creator Responsibility policy”.
The comedian found fame in the early 2000s on the stand-up circuit and as a TV host, before starring in Hollywood films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and presenting a show on BBC Radio 2.
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However, in recent years, he has switched to wellness coaching and producing regular YouTube videos – from which he is thought to derive much of his income.
Brand maintains a presence on Rumble – a video site popular with some conservatives and far-right groups – where his channel has 1.4m followers and X, formerly known as Twitter, where he has more than 11m followers.
He has not posted on either since his video denial on Friday.
‘Pretty depressing’
It comes as a TV executive who worked at a company that hired Brand described the allegations against the star as “depressing”.
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Russell Brand denies ‘serious allegations’
Phil Edgar-Jones was creative director of Remarkable Pictures, part of Endemol UK, and oversaw Big Brother during its Channel 4 years.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “There was never any sense that he’d done anything inappropriate that was brought to our attention, certainly.
“We knew he had a reputation for being promiscuous – and everybody knew that at the time – but that’s as far as it went, as far as we knew.”
He added that the allegations were “pretty depressing”.
Mr Edgar-Jones, who is now director of Sky Arts and Entertainment, went on to stress that Remarkable Pictures would “100%” have acted if something was brought to its attention.
Removing YouTube earnings is ‘cancel culture’
Brand was at the centre of the so-called “Sachsgate” scandal in 2008, when he and TV presenter Jonathan Ross left lewd messages on the answerphone of Andrew Sachs, the late actor who starred in Fawlty Towers.
The voicemails had related to Sachs’ granddaughter Georgina Baillie, who had an on-off relationship with Brand in the 2000s.
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Evidence against Brand ‘compelling’
Speaking to The Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge, Baillie said that YouTube’s decision to suspend earnings from Brand’s channel amounted to “cancel culture”.
The 38-year-old actress went on to say that, even though she did not know all of the details surrounding the allegations, some of the evidence is “compelling”.
When asked about her thoughts about the claims, Baillie added: “I don’t know what happened there – I don’t know because I wasn’t there. He never did anything like that with me, everything was more than consensual, I promise.”
RuPaul has said his “heart is broken” following the death of former Drag Race winner, The Vivienne.
The drag queen and TV presenter said on Instagram on Monday he joined the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of The Vivienne, whom he called “an incredibly talented queen and a lovely human being”.
The Vivienne, whose real name was James Lee Williams, won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019.
Read more: The Vivienne’s rise as a drag ‘trailblazer’
The 32-year-old’s death was confirmed by their publicist Simon Jones on Sunday evening.
Danny Beard, who won the reality show in 2022, called The Vivienne “a proper entertainer” and “one of the most passionate, talented, geeky, girls I’ve ever known” and their death meant “there’s a piece missing now”.
Cheddar Gorgeous, that year’s runner-up, said on Instagram they had lost “a peer, a friend and an icon”, adding that “the entire world of entertainment grieves” and it was “impossible to make sense of such sadness”.
RuPaul joined the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of The Vivienne
Bagachipz said on social media they would “talk to you before I go onstage for every single show I do”, calling The Vivienne a “powerhouse when you hit that stage”.
The Vivienne’s ex-husband, David Ludford, said the performer “made me feel love and shown me what it was really like to love someone”.
The Vivienne at the UK premiere of Wicked in November. Pic: AP
The Vivienne, 32, rose to prominence in 2015 after becoming the UK Drag Ambassador for the American series of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The show sees drag queens competing in front of a panel of judges to become the next drag superstar.
The Vivienne, whose drag name came from their love of designer Vivienne Westwood, later competed in the first UK series of the show in 2019, going on to win it after lip-syncing in the final to the Wham! hit I’m Your Man.
Williams, who was born in Wales, also came third on the 2023 series of Dancing On Ice.
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A spokesman for Cheshire Police said officers were called to a house in Chorlton-by-Backford, near Chester, at 12.22pm on Sunday following reports of a sudden death.
The force said there were “no suspicious circumstances”.
Entertainment
Golden Globes 2025: Emilia Perez, The Brutalist, Wicked, Baby Reindeer and Shogun among the night’s big winners
Emilia Perez and The Brutalist were the big film winners at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, with Shogun and Baby Reindeer leading the field for TV.
Emilia Perez, an operatic musical which tells the story of a Mexican drug lord who changes gender, was named best comedy or musical, best non-English language film and also won best song, while star Zoe Saldana picked up the award for best supporting actress.
Accepting the film’s top award, trans actress Karla Sofia Gascon, 52, told the audience: “The light always wins over darkness. You can maybe put us in jail. You can beat us up. But you never can take away our soul or existence or identity… I am who I am. Not who you want.”
Postwar epic The Brutalist won the awards for best drama, best actor for star Adrien Brody – who plays a Hungarian architect attempting to build a life in the US after the Second World War in the film – and best director for Brady Corbet.
The Brutalist actor Adrien Brody, winner of the award for best male actor in a drama, with his co-stars Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce. Pic: AP
Kieran Culkin was among the acting winners for his performance in A Real Pain. Pic: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni
There were also acting wins for Demi Moore (The Substance), Sebastian Stan (A Different Man), Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here) and Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain).
Moore, 62, gave an emotional speech as she collected her statuette, saying it was the first award of her 45-year acting career and that she was “in shock” to beat the likes of Wicked star Cynthia Erivo and Challengers actress Zendaya.
Demi Moore picked up the Golden Globe for best performance by a female actor in a motion picture – musical or comedy – for The Substance. Pic: AP
Wicked stars and filmmakers (L-R): Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Marc Platt, and Jon M Chu. Pic: AP
“Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress,” she said, adding that it made her feel that while she could make box office hits, she would never be “acknowledged”. When she came across the script for The Substance, however, she said it felt like the universe telling her, “you’re not done”.
The Wizard Of Oz prequel blockbuster Wicked, the most talked about film of the year, missed out on acting awards for its stars Erivo and Ariana Grande, but took home the cinematic and box office achievement prize.
In his speech, director Jon M Chu said: “In a time where pessimism and cynicism rule the planet, that we can still make art that is a radical act of optimism that is empowerment and that is joy… this means so much to all of us.”
Baby Reindeer and the other TV wins
Hiroyuki Sanada scooped one of three acting awards for Shogun. Pic: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
In the TV categories, Japenese historical drama Shogun dominated, picking up three acting awards for its stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai and Tadanobu Asano, and also the prize for best drama.
Baby Reindeer also had a successful night, with a supporting gong for actress Jessica Gunning, and the award for best limited series.
The series, about a comedian and barman who is stalked by an older woman, was a huge hit and criticially acclaimed, but has more recently made headlines for facing a lawsuit from a woman who says the show identified her as the “real” Martha, the character played by Gunning.
Baby Reindeer was named best limited TV series. Pic: Reuters
Accepting the award, creator and star Richard Gadd told the audience that people often ask him why such a dark show has been so successful.
“I think in a lot of ways, people were kind of crying out for something that… spoke to the kind of painful inconsistencies of being human,” the 35-year-old said. I think for a while now, there’s been this kind of belief in television that stories that are too dark and complicated won’t sell and no one will watch them.
“So I hope that Baby Reindeer has done away with that theory. Because I think right now, when the world’s in the state that it’s in, and people are really struggling, we need stories that speak to the complicated and difficult nature of our times.”
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Colin Farrell was recognised for his performance in The Penguin. Pic: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni
Gadd missed out on the acting award in the show’s category – which was won by Irish star Colin Farrell, 48, for his portrayal of Batman villain Penguin in the series of the same name.
Farrell, who wore heavy prosthetics as he campaigned to be the new kingpin of Gotham in the show, joked on stage that he had “no one to thank” and that he “did it all by myself”.
The ceremony in Los Angeles was hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, who made jokes about everything from Ozempic, the drug being used for weight loss by Hollywood stars, to Sean “Diddy” Combs – who has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and racketeering and is currently in jail awaiting trial after being arrested last year.
“Welcome to the 82nd Golden Globes, Ozempic’s biggest night,” Glaser said as she opened the ceremony.
She also referenced the huge A-list support for Kamala Harris in the election – and how it didn’t translate to a win.
“You could really do anything… except tell the country who to vote for,” she said.
Ahead of the evented, authorities said they had implemented “increased security measures” following the vehicle attack in New Orleans and Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion on New Year’s Day.
A heavy police presence surrounded the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, with a wider and more enforced perimeter than usual around the hotel.
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