Jonathan Ross 'horrified' by Walliams allegations and Brand conviction

Jonathan Ross is one of the country's best-known TV presenters, having regularly hosted celebrities on his Jonathan Ross Show, including David Walliams and Russell Brand.

In the ITV documentary revealing the allegations, Ross is pictured at an event also attended by a woman who later made accusations about the conduct of Walliams.

In his statement, Ross also addressed a joke he made at a comedy awards show in 2004, in which the punchline suggested Walliams would be "going home" with a 15-year-old.

Ross acknowledged the controversial quip and described it as "tasteless".

He added: "This joke was submitted to me by the Comedy Awards script writing team and I believed that the punchline was a reference to the fact he had publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect.

"Had I had any reason to suspect that it might be referring to actual events, I would not only have refused to use it, but I would not have felt comfortable continuing a personal or professional relationship with him.

"I also like to think that I would have acted upon that knowledge."

Ross and Brand were also widely criticised for leaving lewd voicemails for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, the grandfather of Georgina Baillie with whom Brand was in a consensual relationship in the mid-2000s, during a BBC Radio 2 broadcast.

Brand was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years imprisonment for one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, and the Metropolitan Police has confirmed several people have approached them about the disgraced star since his conviction.

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