Russell Brand concerns “not adequately addressed” by Channel 4, investigation finds

nme.com:

Russell Brand‘s behaviour while hosting Big Brother spin-off programmes were “not adequately addressed”, an investigation has found.The comedian and actor presented shows including Big Brother’s Big Mouth and Big Brother’s Celebrity Hijack on Channel 4 between 2004 and 2008.An investigation by production company Banijay UK has said managers were alerted to allegations that Brand asked staff to get audience members’ phone numbers, and that his behaviour made female crew members feel uncomfortable or intimidated.However, the production company said that no formal complaints were made and the concerns were “not properly escalated”.Banijay said (via BBC News): “We are extremely sorry to anyone who was impacted by this behaviour and felt unable to speak up or that their voice was not properly heard.”Banijay is one of several broadcasting organisations to have investigated whether any complaints were made about Brand’s behaviour during his employment.

The company asked law firm Lewis Silkin LLP to conduct the investigation.Lewis Silkin’s head of investigations Karen Baxter concluded: “No formal complaints were made about Brand during the programmes.”“There were, however, concerns regarding Brand’s behaviour which were raised informally with senior members of staff, particularly in relation to him asking runners to obtain phone numbers of audience members and female crew members feeling uncomfortable or intimidated by his behaviour while working in Bristol in 2004/2005.