Russell Brand boasted BBC 2 boss was ‘incredibly tolerant’ of his sexual behaviour

Russell Brand boasted in his memoir that his boss at the BBC was “incredibly tolerant” of his sexual behaviour while he was a radio presenter.

The comedian, 51, has been found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault after a dramatic four-week trial and has been warned he faces a lengthy prison sentence when he is sentenced on Monday.

In his 2010 memoir, My Booky Wook 2, he claimed that the BBC’s former controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music, Lesley Douglas, gave him “lots of room” which meant he had access to female competition winners.

An extract from the book reads: “Lesley Douglas was incredibly tolerant of my behaviour at Radio 2.

“If you listen to old 6 Music podcasts, you will notice that all the competition winners that came into studio while we broadcast as a prize were female. This is because there was an additional aspect to the prize which could never be explicitly stated due to the BBC's rigid policy prohibiting the misuse of the disabled lavvy.”

Brand would often brag about his sexual conquests and make sexual jokes as part of his public persona. In another extract of his book, he admitted to making a BBC newsreader upset by claiming he’d interact “in an intimate manner” with her as she “recited massacres and football scores”.

He claimed: “From the get-go that show had a propensity for aggravation. It was oftentimes daft and gentle, with music-hall banter and light ribbing, but Lesley loved me and gave me lots of room – so I took that room. We began to wind up the newsreaders, throwing to the news in a childish fashion, goading them into including daft words in the news.

“I went too far and started claiming that during the news I'd be under the desk, interacting in an intimate manner with the newswoman as she racily recited massacres and football scores. She was a bit upset.”

Brand worked at the BBC from 2006 to 2008 as a regular presenter on 6 Music and Radio 2. Five separate complaints about Brand were raised with BBC bosses, according to an internal review by Peter Johnston, BBC Director of Editorial Complaints, published in 2025.

Mr Johnston found that the “culture of the time” meant that individuals who had concerns about Brand’s behaviour felt unable to raise them.

“Many interviewees believed, rightly or wrongly, that Russell Brand would always get his way and therefore they stayed silent (and I note here my finding above that the one complaint that was made in 2007 was not dealt with effectively when it was made).”

Brand left his job at the broadcaster in 2008 after he and presenter Jonathan Ross left voicemails for actor Andrew Sachs – who played Manuel in Fawlty Towers – live on air during a BBC 2 radio show which detailed how Brand had had sex with Sachs' granddaughter.

The scandal, later dubbed Sachsgate, prompted 40,000 complaints. Brand left the station and Ross was suspended from the BBC for 12 weeks, while the corporation was slapped with a huge fine.

Brand was acquitted of two other counts of rape and one attempted indecent assault following his trial at Southwark Crown Court and was denied bail ahead of his sentencing.

After the verdicts were read out, the Met Police confirmed the comedian has been accused of raping two more women, including a 16-year-old schoolgirl, and warned further victims could still come forward.