:: gia’s blog ::

For my money, Ross is a talented broadcaster, able to mix cult and mainstream with almost easy aplomb, and Friday nights won’t be the same without him on the BBC…

I think some people really need to develop a sense of perspective regarding current events and how the media in general shapes public opinion. Two guys making a daft prank doesn’t warrant anything more than a simple apology. Hope if anyone gets the sack it’s a media editor somewhere and not Jonathan or Russell. My full support to the guys.

It’s a damned shame, this suspension. A victory for those bumholes over at the Daily Mail.

Thank you so far, everyone. Please let other know they can leave a message here for him.

It’s crazy, it’s just been blown out of all proportion by the tabloids. 18,000 complaints? I don’t think so… all but a handful of these are a result of the tabloid outrage, rather than a direct reaction to the original broadcast, it’s just become a witch hunt by individuals who don’t approve of Ross & Brand and the salaries they get paid. Whilst their ’stunt’ may have been misguided, the pair have apologised, as have BBC who are surely as much to blame for allowing that segment to go out on air. Let’s leave it at that. Both Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand are both valued broadcasters (and genuinely nice people) who entertain millions of viewers/listeners with their shows. Let’s put this whole issue into perspective and move on… I wish all the very best to them both and hope this matter does not escalate further.

Much like your experience - he’s a very approachable, friendly bloke on the occasions I’ve worked with him; as always, it only takes the voracious press to get their claws out and remove all sense from the situation.

As for the phone call..? Like Chris Morris used to do on his Radio 1 show, just less amusing.

What Ross and Brand did to Andrew Sachs is between them and up to them to resolve on a personal basis.

The fact that it was broadcast is not ‘their’ fault. That is purely a BBC hierarchy issue - the editor or whoever has final say in what is broadcast. They are responsible for the content that is broadcast surely, not the presenter of a pre-recorded show?

More to the point - on the presumption that Brand has actually slept with the girl (which no-one seems to be disputing), they didn’t actually say anything that wasn’t true!

Is this really page 1 news and the lead piece on all news programmes. Who cares. Russel went out with her, therefore shagged her so they are only telling the truth. And anyway, it was pre recorded so what muppet at the BBC let it be broadcast in the first place!
Ross is one of the best broadcasters we have. Brand is one of the best comedians. Leave them alone. Also, how many complaints do you think there were when the shows was originally broadcast? You know what you are going to get when you listen to his radio show. Have heard far worse before.

Jonathan is good fun, and good at what he does. He doesn’t deserve any of the stuff the media has been throwing at either him or Russell. They both have my support.

How this has become headline news is beyond me. Ridiculous.

I think people should start complaining to the bbc that they will not be on. if all the people who are fans complained that would soon outnumber the 18,000 sad fecks with no sense of homour.

I so sooo depressed by this story, the power of the bloody Daily Mail, and the middle England lynch mob mentality. Ross and Brand have been totally stitched up from various quarters, and I am deeply suspicious that this Georgina person has hired Max Clifford…no-one had heard of her a few days ago, and she’s now had the best publicity. The bandwagon-jumping of Brown and Cameron is beyond ridiculous.

I’m going to be negative for a slight introduction, I’m not the biggest fan of Johnathan Ross or Russell Brand. I do listen to them on the radio occasionally, but it’s background to wherever I am and I usually don’t want to be there.

I will also (shock horror) defend Gordon Brown. Probably some hack stuck a microphone under him and said “What do you make of the Brand/Ross situation?”, how was he to respond? Even a “Haven’t you got anything better to worry about?” would show he’s out of touch.

It’s a HUGE tabloid witch hunt against two talented performers by a newspaper that probably started a witch hunt against Andrew Sachs in the mid 1970’s saying he was “racist stereotype against one of our best loved allies”. It’s a bloody joke, and it annoys me that papers will get off scot free, for something that they’ve caused.

It’s been announced that Brand has quit.
There is no excuse - it was them on the radio, they have not been stitched up - they’ve been shamed!
Granted it has been pushed out of proportion, but they are adults, and I felt that that kind of humour was very infantile.
The production team are also to blame, not vetting the show before broadcast.
It’s not a case of Save Jonathan Ross - it’s a case of Eat Humble pie Jonathan Ross.
All flaming will be deleted.

Dark-Boy - if you’d paid attention you would have seen that yesterday Jonathan had personally delivered both an apology and flowers to Andrew Sachs who graciously accepted the apology. Sachs also admitted that a producer had phoned him up and played the offending material to him down the phone asking for his permission to broadcast it. He said the line wasn’t entirely clear, but he clearly gave his approval for it to go out.

The programme was edited and approved by a producer, probably played to a senior producer and played for BBC lawyers who approved it for broadcast.

The hysteria has been started by the Daily Mail who ALWAYS takes every opportunity to go after the BBC. This whole thing is entirely based in mindless, anti-BBC, right-wing shite.

Think.

Just heard that Russell has ‘resigned’ and I just had to come here and state my support for Jonathan, one of the greatest all round entertainers that we have in the UK.

This is yet another example of ridiculous public hysteria being created and fanned by the good old tabloid newspapers. Why do people allow themselves to be manipulated so obviously?! It all smacks of knee-jerk reactions, hidden agendas and witch-hunting!

People are just jumping on the bandwagon to condemn, but I’d love to know how many of these people actually heard the broadcast?

Jonathan, you have my support and my best wishes. Thank you for many years entertainment and laughter.

All tomorrows chip paper. Look forward to the next show. XX

Just to vent my anger at the 17,998 people that complained AFTER the program had aired (therefore actively seeking out the program to be offended) - ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH.

Sorry, Gia, you’re going to have to delete this comment, because I don’t feel that I want to support either Brand or Ross.

**Gia: And your reason for commenting is… what exactly? I think I was clear in my post. There have been way more than enough negative comments on this. I’m interested in showing Jonathan that not everyone is a mindless, humourless sheep…**

I actually bother to watch Jonathan Ross (no comment about Mr Brand) so think it’s a damn shame that a prank, that was apologised for, has gone this far.

Keep your head up high Jonathan!

Jonathon Ross has always struck me as a genuine guy; he’s sometimes a little cruel doing stuff at awards ceremonies, but he aslo seems to be compassionate and is genuinly knowledgeable about the people he interviews

People seem to be way too moralistic these days and way too ready to complain about things on TV or Radio.
Why not simply turn off what you don’t like and leave the rest of us to enjoy?

I’m not a huge fan of either but I’ll support and defend their right to test the bounds of comedy and make people laugh, which isn’t an easily defined formula. They are paid well to be creative and entertaining, and it should be the editors’ job to decide what should and shouldn’t air. Unfortunately their salary and profile is leading this witch-hunt. When Chris Morris announced Michael Heseltine was dead on Radio 1 and started courting obituaries – did anybody notice & complain? And this Brand/Ross incident seemed to be based on a truth – but that appears to be irrelevant to the Daily Mail brigade. An apology here should be sufficient, and these guys should be reinstated otherwise the BBC will turn into the Bland Broadcasting Cooperation. I find most “reality TV” offensive, but I don’t demand it taken off air. On second thoughts …

ps. click my name for a link straight there.
Thanks,
Jo

What a load of old cobblers. It’s a sad reflection of the over-controlled, politically correct society we live in.

I’m very sad that Russell Brand has felt the need to leave the BBC and I truly hope that Wossy some how manages to stick around. Both of them are truly fantastic entertainers.

Stick with it Jonathan and I hope to see you back on Friday Night With and Radio 2 before much longer.

I think he it disgusting to see how people are treating ross and brand over a prank
Everyone makes mistakes so can we forget about this and let them get on with there jobs i lve johnathan show it be a great shame if it went off over this

I have told the BBC in not so short terms what I think of them not protecting their employees from the “decency mob” and for accepting R.Brand’s resignation. JR, I try watching your show whenever I can. It’s fun, it takes me laugh, not all the time but most of the time. And that’s a good thing. Keep your head up, there are people vouching for you! And tell R.Brand he shouldn’t stay in the States. He’s great with his british, always confused act, I love it.

Jonathan Ross is brilliant. He’s real and down to earth not fabricated like a lot of crap that the BBC shows. Any station will welcome him happily so let the BBC sack him. will be there loss for sure.
Why do we pay the TV licence well only the uptight life has passed them by types get a say in what we watch. Totally disgusting. Love you jonathan!!!

Not a fan of Brand.

Jonathan Ross on the other hand is a talented guy and is entertaining.

The whole thing has been blown wayyyyyyyyyy out of proportion. Why on earth are MPs and the Prime Minister getting involved in this?

I’m suren that the publicity given to all of this has done the acting/modelling/presenting career of Ms Baillie no end of good.

Save our Wossy

Unbelievable. So sorry that Brand felt he had to go. Stand firm Jonathan.

Free the Radio 2

Total over reaction! Someone will always be offended by some joke or another. We’re all adults, and they should get over it!
Why isn’t there a fuss like this when programmes are broadcast that can cause genuine harm to vunerable groups like babies?
Society have their priorities all wrong.

I can’t believe how badly these men are being treated and really feel for their families because it mustn’t be easy to see your son, father or husband be vilanised for something so silly. They do great work and I have always been happily entertained by them both.

“dont mention the war, and that you slept with his granddaughter”

That was slightly funny, and seen as brands love life is in the public arena, and that the satanic sluts are in the public arena, and that sachs was to appear on the show, i see little to nothing wrong with what was said. If you dont want to be made fun of, dont be famous.

Now, Songs of praise, which supports a view point that is against same sex marriage, and considers 7 out of 10 people in the UK, to be going to hell to be tortured forever when they die, now that i find offensive.

This debate (if it is such a thing) shows the generation gap in this cuntry (intended). Those who complained are the older, Daily Mail reading morons who think Alan Titchmarsh is entertaining and those on the other side are the younger, more accepting audience. It shows that Russ and Ross will still have a career after this, with the BBC or not, because the new generation like them and that’s all that matters.

Yes it was in bad taste but isn’t that part of comedy? The funniest bit was when they kept calling back to apologise and kept getting it wrong, it was hilarious! The “phone prank” has always been a part of radio, it’s only because the tabloid whipping boys did it that it’s getting this attention.

Much like the Hutton enquiry the BBC have been made to look weak and foolish and pandering to will of the government and the 30,000 sheep who didn’t even listen to it anyway. The meeja reaction is disgraceful and I’m ashamed to be working within that world.

Don’t listen to the whingers, Mr Ross!

The whole sorry thing’s been blown so far out of proportion it’s not even funny. It’s pretty clear a lot of people are using this as an excuse to vent their spleens about the BBC in general and you and Mr Brand have taken the an undeservedly high proportion of rap. Yes it was a little over the mark, but that’s bound to happen now and again when you’re involved in comedy that sails a bit close to the wind. There’s plenty of stuff on the beeb that’s a hell of a lot more unpleasant that your misdemeanor (not least new ’sitcom’ Coming of Age - absolutely without a single redeeming feature).

All in all, not only am I saddened by the sanctimonious, puritanical attitute of such a large number of the country, I’m also feeling very let down by the BBC for failing to support yourself and Mr Brand. Please, please, please come out fighting and get back to the usual cut and thrust of cheeky, good natured programming for all our benefits!

Let the witchhunt end here! Apologies were enough. There was no need for anyone to lose their jobs.

And why on earth are politicians all wading in on this? Have they nothing better to do?

As an old fart and a long standing fan of JR it’s a load of bollocks and has been blown out of all proportion by the newspapers and TV news.Yes it was a bit tasteless but thats exactly why we love JRs schoolboy humour.
Carry on regardless and fuck off to everybody else.

Bring Back Ross !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is wrong with the world, if you ask me there’s way too many goodie goodies with too much time on there hands and very little else to do in there boring existence then to complain about silly things like this. All but one never heard the broadcast until the Newspapers with there twisted minds set about with a lynching mob! rather then concentrating on real news, Surprise surprise !!!!

Everyone knows what Ross and brand are like and what there comedy style is! so if you don’t like it then don’t watch it! Instead of spoiling if the millions of viewer who do like what they do and forcing people out of there jobs just to please you. So for god sake bring them back and try and tackle more pressing matters than actually making more.

This ban is ridiculous. The BBC should be ashamed of themselves, they will water down the principles the BBC is famous around the world for. Contact the BBC Trust and complain in the same way that the moral majority daily mail readers have and show jonny ross some support.

I love Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, I have recently suffered with illness and I must say that this show has given me something to look forward too and has been the highlight of my tv week and has lifted my spirits more than anything else!!! I think he is genius and so funny it’s just brilliant and such a great show!!

With regards to the latest debacle I just wonder what is wrong with our country yes ok I would agree that what they said was pushing it and really not nice but I’m sure in hindsight they both agree with this, the fact that all the complaints came from people that don’t and didn’t even listen to the show isjust stupid, how can you be offendedby something you didn’t even witness???? These people that have complained need to refocus their energies on things that do affect them like the recession, The Iraq war, council tax??? etc… and as for the media how can they justify this being the number one news item for a week when there are people dying in wars,being persecuted in Africa, earthquakes and bomb attacks in Asia??? and they think they are taking the moral high ground????? A simple apology from Jonathan and Russel and that should have been the end of it if anyone had any common sense! I love Jonathan Ross and am gutted he has been suspended I just beg him not to give up and to host HIS show in the brilliant way he does as soon as possible!! All my friends love him too and will miss him enormously!! Chin up Jonathan, I have complained to the BBC for suspending you and forbowing to public pressure that don’t even listen or watch your excellent shows !!! Looking forward to seeing you very soon. Rebecca, Marlow xxx

What an absolutely ridiculous situation. 30,000 complaints and probably not one of them listened to the actual show. It must be terrible for the page three wannabe, Satanic Slut, although I noticed she wasn’t too upset to take money from The Sun and brag about the details of her romp with RB. A miserable win for the politically correct, whinging brigade. Boo! JR is a huge talent and the BBC, and his fans are the real losers. There are soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan getting limbs blown off for chrissakes.

Britain has gone insane. What happened to freedom of speech? and why won’t my voice be heard?! every newspaper is against them, yet the supporters, the MILLIONS of people who listen to or watch their shows are being ignored. The future is with the younger generation. No one should dictate what we like, nor should they imply that such comedians lead to ignorant, arrogant, gutter mouthed teens. This is censorship gone insane!

P.S. LOVE the Solidawity for Wossy!!!!

The thing I find much more offensive is that the BBC keep making series after series of inane dross, namely ‘My Family’! It is a sad state of affairs when there appears to be more media coverage of this than the murder of John Paul De Menezes!!! I am certain that JR will not suffer the loss of 12 weeks earnings, however his fans who watch him every week and listen to his Radio Show will certainly feel the loss! I don’t suppose there will be any rebate on our TV licence payments next year to compensate for our loss? He is the only thing worth tuning into every week - and all I can say to all the people who have complained then they obviously do not appreciate this type of humour and they can always watch My Family instead. Jonathan - keep smiling.

You’ve got my support! I keep looking over my shoulder thinking someone’s resurrected Mary Whitehouse or something. Even Andrew Sachs himself seems shocked by the hysteria from the Green Ink Brigade that’s blown up over this! And what for? Just a hell of a lot of Daily Heil readers going on about ’salaries’, it’s just sour grapes, they aren’t offended in any genuine way nor do they feel any genuine sympathy for Sachs, they just want to get their bullyboy boots in. Probably the sorts of people who would tear each other’s hair out to get their hands on a discount sofa at an IKEA store opening! I wonder if they’re sitting at home watching Jim Davidson DVDs and saying “This is propah comedy!”. Probably!
As for the opinion of older people, my father is in his late 70s and thinks Russell Brand is funny and said these complainers should get a grip of themselves.
Looking forwards to seeing JR back again soon - I’ve GOT to know what he thinks of Watchmen when that’s out next year! :D

Why must the rest of us suffer because of the minority holding a hate campaign. There are a lot of programmes I do not like but we live in a democracy where the BBC provide a variety of entertainers & entertainment to appeal to different sectors of the general public.

The BBC produce some great programs with limited appeal, I thought that was the point of maintaining a public funded broadcasting corporation.

Suspending people who step over the line on occasionally because of the whining of the Daily Mail readership is imbecilic.

I read the above comments with some interest. There are more significant things going on in the world - war, starvation, AIDS etc. And some people are jumping on the bandwagon. And another group venting their dislike of Ross and Brand for their own personal reasons are clearly having a field day of it. That aside, the prank did once again confirm my suspicions - England is a more incivil place than it used to be. Ross and Brand are both highly paid because of their vulgarity, not despite of it. Ross is the perpetual juvenile - at 47. Yet both are supremely talented and often very funny. The show’s listeners are implicated of course - by association. They have both good and bad taste simultaneously. And comedy has a very close relationship to cruelty, nay it relies on an element of cruelty to “work”. Any comedian worth his salt knows this of course and has to manage it, and determine where the boundaries lie. Brand’s apology may indeed be heartfelt, yet we all know it would not have arisen if the nation’s attention had not been so directed to this escapade. The episode is a microcosm of society, a window into the general standard of conduct in this country. The standard is low. It marries up with, in some jagged way, the behaviour of the underclass (incivil and cruel); the working class (s’only a laugh innit); and the middle class, so quick to bleat over the threat to free speech. None of these groups value or promote self-control and restraint. Therein lies the problem.

Friday night tv will miss JR! I have been watching and loving JR since Last Resort days and he has always made me laugh and entertained me. This issue was 2 comedians who just got carried away and it shouldn’t have been aired and that would have been the end of that! I cant believe all the hype, just been watching BBC1 Newsnight and it was discussed for 40mins! I think its a ploy to distract from everyones misery due to the credit crunch and the state of the country! Its a poor show that do to that the media and even our members of parliment distract our attention on to a witch hunt over a high spirited silly phone message!
They have said sorry!!! Chin up Jonathan, I’ll be waiting here for your return!

It is profoundly disturbing that so many people are jumping on the bandwagon and taking a moral high ground to point fingers at Ross and Brand at the behest of a tabloid. It is even more disturbing that the BBC is actually bowing to a witch-hunt that is propagated by a tabloid like the Daily Mail. It says more about the society that is so willing to believe every damn thing printed by a tabloid. This is mass hysteria.

Whatever happened to that British stoicism I heard so much about? Oh wait, it’s all gone to the dogs! People have more concern and respect now for tabloid news than they do about real concerns like the environment or the economy.

OK so Wossy (who is a god) and Brand (whom I don’t like but support over this) did a very ill advised thing, but hey guess what the linchmobs came out of the woods again. Almost all the complaints about this have come long after the program was aired and by the sounds of it the majority of complaints have not been as a result of listening to the show, but as a reaction to the media hype. As Jim Brosnan says the ‘Daily Rags’ have done it again. I don’t sign up to censorship of newspapers, but sometrhing has to be done about the scaremongering and poo stirring dredged up by the so called newspapers. I don’t think I’ve read a piece of ‘real news’ from any of them for an awful long time.

Yes it was foolish and rude but Jonathan has accepted that and apologised days ago. He is an excellent broadcaster. I hope he doesn’t resign too. Only 2 people complained on the night, the rest have been whipped up by The Daily Mail, the newspaper that thought Hitler was a good bloke! It wasn’t even Jonathan’s show and he didn’t clear it for broadcast. Its funny how the woman in question is now giving interviews and revealing details of her sex life in the tabloids. Max Clifford is her PR apparently. Hmmmm…..

Re News at 10, 30th Oct 08.

Jonathan Ross and Russell brand should just pack up and go, open their own radio station and watch the audiences migrate from BBC2. What a pathetic joke the whole thing is.

I’m also appalled with the genuinely obscene editorial decision to put this so called ‘obscene phone call’ story as the main headline before the actual obscenities being commited anew in the Congo. The editorial team will no doubt argue public interest and cite 5 newspaper headlines, 18,000 calls yesterday but I guestion the BBC’s editorial integrity on this issue not on whether stupid mistakes have been made in another part of their navel gazing organisation.

Minor but telling point; where was even 1 vox pop during the phone call item making the above point?

More interesting, what does it say about our society that this could be headline news before the Congo or even the results of the Stockwell shooting enquiry? Haven’t the BBC got a responsibility here?

Firstly, I don’t think this farce is representative of society’s decline. The only aspect of society this shines a light on is editorial policy within the media. The Daily Mail may have started a witch-hunt, but that doesn’t justify all the other newspapers and TV bulletins deciding that the story should be their lead item.

I’ll also restate the point someone else made that Gordon Brown probably couldn’t care less about this affair, but made a comment because a journalist asked him. Putting aside the question of whether journalists should be wasting elected officials’ time in this way (and shame on those MPs who’ve been wasting their own time on this matter), the PM’s response was as predictable as the response of the BBC - they have to appease the unreasonably vocal minority, because if they didn’t, they’d become the next target of the outrage.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the BBC’s discussions with Jonathan Ross over his suspension acknowledged that very fact - ‘we’re not really doing this because we think it’s a suitable punishment, but because in the current media climate it’s the most pragmatic solution’.

That media climate is the problem, not Jonathan Ross or Russell Brand, and so I whole-heartedly support them in this matter, along with Andrew Sachs, who seems to have been understanding and gracious throughout. As for Sachs’ granddaughter, well, I can’t blame her for taking The Sun’s money, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that same tabloid runs a story on her sex life in the not too distant future (a story which may or may not be true) that proves just as embarrassing and humiliating to her and her family as the Ross and Brand prank. The sad thing is that this kind of exposé will be deemed okay and ‘in the public interest’.

Jonathan,

I watch your Friday night show almost religiously - it’s a great way to unwind after a week at work. I think you are genuinely funny and passionate about what you do. I like your self-depreciating brand of humour (do those complainer’s not realise that when you talk about how handsome you are that you are being sarcastic?!!). I love the fact that celeb’s queue to get on your show and admit to watching your show in the states and elsewhere. I do love the way you can make audiences and guests relax in your company and I always come away thinking yep, I enjoyed that.

Your radio show is consistently excellent and I tune in on most Saturday mornings. It’s entertaining, funny and you play some great music (Bowie every Saturday!). I discovered RL Burnside and Hotchip through listening to and watching your shows…

And let’s not forget your services to broadcasting and to charity. For those complaining about your salary hear this… Jonathan Ross more then earns his money - and the BBC clearly understand that.

I have felt recently that some of your tv humour was in danger of falling into the gutter but it was a personal opinion, and it wasn’t enough to complain about - I just put it down to the need to compete with other more crude (though similar) humour on other shows. You needed reigning in a bit. Andrew Sachs did that, you apologised - time to move on…

But instead you are suffering like this. It’s terrible - and now your supporters are being made to suffer as well by having you removed from our screens. This is complete rubbish - brought on by people who probably never watch/listen to your shows because they’ve already formed a judgement.

It’s a great shame and it’s a great shame that the BBC are taking this action - especially if they realise how much value you bring to their network. I wish you (and Russell) well and hope you find a work around soon.

I think it’s a huge shame that it has come to this, that a talented broadcaster should be suspended over a stupid joke that’s been blown out of all proportion by a bunch a right wing miserable gits! Who should be far more concerned with reporting the real issues going on in the world?

It’s nice to see that Andrew Sach’s granddaughter (up and coming glamour model) is so distraught by all this that she’s sold her soul to The Sun for consolation!

Friday night’s and Saturday morning’s won’t be the same.

I just sent a message to the the BBC as well:

30,000 complaints by a bunch of band wagon sheep, what a joke, you ban him for 3 months? what a joke, man up and get him back sooner, he is the only thing worth watching on the BBC. SHAME ON YOU ALL

what i am wondering is that if ross and brand had said those things to someone who isnt famous (not andrew sachs) would the outcome be the same as it is now. i think not.!!!!!! The person who put it on air was the person who blew this whole thing up and should be dismissed not the two people who bring entertainment to a whole new level. My thoughts are with you both.

Dear Jonathan,

This is a sad day. The first friday without you to start my weekend. On your bad days you make me smile; on your best you make me laugh out loud. Yes, you made me smile with your prank call.

Personally, I don’t think it was about Andrew Sachs at all, nor his granddaughter who acts the injured innocence. It was about you and Russell entering a contest of who could make the biggest fool of himself. And that was funny. I’m very sorry it backfired. I’m pretty sure that the fuzz isn’t really about the bad taste, but envy of your salary. This in itself is hypocritical, because I’m sure that most of the complainers would take the money when offered. The money is irrelevant.

All that talk about moral decay is irrelevant too. This was a joke, not a malicious act. Quite frankly if I had such messages on my answering machine, I would immediately understand that it was a joke and I would probably not be offended by it. At worst I would just lift my shoulders and sigh. People seem to think that morality is something fixed and needs protecting. Well, it isn’t fixed, it’s something that we all decide upon together and adjust when necessary. And it doesn’t need protection.

The mention that Mr. Sachs is an elderly person and therefore in need of special consideration is something I would consider offending. People seem to think that when you get older, you’re not to be taken seriously. This is age discrimination. So I find the age of Mr. Sachs irrelevant. As for the privacy of his granddaughter, it was Russell’s story too. Maybe he should have kept it to himself, but they’re both adults so who really cares who’s sleeping with who?

I feel that a great injustice has been done to both you and Russell. This is a modern version of a hanging party. You weren’t hired as moral police, you were hired to entertain. This is what you tried to do. It was considered funny enough by the BBC to put film clips of th