Should the BBC have suspended Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand?

When Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand made prank calls to Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs (who played Manuel) announcing Brand had slept with his granddaughter, they probably thought it was one big joke. But when it was broadcast on Brand's pre-recorded BBC2 radio show, it became an instant scandal. Over 18,000 people have complained about the lewd remarks, Sachs's granddaughter Georgina Baillie has insisted the pair should pay with their jobs, and even Gordon Brown's got involved, saying it's unacceptable behaviour. Now the BBC has announced it is suspending Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand, with all their shows being being taken off the air until the prank calls have been investigated. What do you think of the Beeb's decision? Are you glad the presenters are being punished or do you think the ‘scandal' has been blown out of all proportion? Tell us below.

• I love Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross and i feel sorry for Andrew Sachs as it was clearly quite cruel. But for Gordon Brown and David Cameron to be commenting on it? don't they have better things to do? It seems to be these two highly paid entertainers are being used as a scapegoat/punch bag for the nation's troubles at the moment...like it seems people want an outlet to vent their greivances.
  Emily
• Personally I really dislike Jonathan Ross so I'm glad he's getting his comeuppance. It was totally distasteful and glad I won't have to see his mug on TV Friday night...
  Tigerlili
• Although I like both Russ and Ross, they're grown men who are acting like pathetic school boys. Their behaviour is condoning bullying and although I agree that involving the prime minster is taking it to an extreme, they need to be made examples of, esp after all the fuss about how much Jonathan earns! In their eyes, they were probably just having a bit of fun for the sake of entertainment and got a tad carried away... silly boys.
  LeilaLu
• They should both be sacked. The licence fee pays these guys - their behavour has been shocking.
  powerkitty
• Even though I really like Jonathan Ross I find this whole story totally distasteful. Ross and Brand are educated adults (at least I believe so, since they work for the BBC)and should have a better sense of humour than insulting both Mr Sachs and his granddaughter in public - for me claiming to have slept with Brand is an insult in itself. Not sure banning their shows is necessary though as I suspect viewership might drop now anyway. Mr Sachs and Georgina Baillie should decide what the two 'gentlemen' need to do to pay for the prank. Obviously in public. Maybe something charitable and of course a public and honesst apology to the two victims.
  kassandra
• Is this witch hunt in celebration of Halloween or has the credit crunch news finally sent us all mad?
  iwantone
• Okay so their behaivour was slightly out of hand. Surely an apology will suffice? Government involvement? Puleeze! And lets face it, while a Grandfather does not want to hear about his granddaughter's alleged dalliances, the publicity hasn't at all harmed Ms Baillie or her career with the Satanic Sluts...I can't begin to imagine what kind of dancers these young ladies could possibly be. Apologise, then enough already!
  Sister
• Isn't Jonathan Ross publicising his book called Why Do I Say These Things? I smell a publicity stunt.......
  monsoonrain
• Isn't Jonathan Ross publicising his book called Why Do I Say These Things? I smell a publicity stunt.......
  monsoonrain
• So pleased to see Georgina telling the world (via the medium of The Sun) today exactly what Russell was like in bed. I'm sure that helped her grandad get over the furore no end
  idmarrymarcjifhewasntgay
• Get over it! What they did was stupid and unnecessary but it has happened and is it really worthy of so much attention? What is more distressing is having to see awful pictures of Miss Baillie splashed everywhere...lets see what red carpet she is on next week trying to keep her 15mins of fame!
  Gezabelle
• Im actually getting quite sick of hearing how terrible this incident was. How it offended so many people and how RB and JR should be sacked...
  Lets clear things up shall we..
  1] I believe the act only to be in poor taste if the allegations RB made about Mr Sachs daughter are untrue. And from what I can tell she hasn't denied that she slept with him at all. And why would she? Shes not exactly high up on the celebrity radar...until now that is.
  2]The radio show was pre-recorded. The BBC knew the content of the show before in was put on air. They had also contacted Mr Sachs and asked him if he was offended. To which he replied he would like some bits of the show to be removed. However, the BBC aired the show regardless. So pretty much all the blame should lie with them. Sachs wouldn't have been half as embarassed if the prank hand't have been made public, and widely available.
  3]Im pretty much jumping for joy that RB has resigned. He can take his talents elsewhere and get paid heavily for doing so. I only hope JR follows suit.
  And finally, why is this an issue for government? Surely they've got more important things, IE : impending recession, to worry about?
  alli161
• No doubt what they did was silly and distasteful - but it is now way out of proportion, and if it's still in the news tomorrow we should all despair!
  The complainers all want to read the sordid details about Georgina - hypocrisy and double-standards all round
  Andrew Sachs probably wants the whole thing to go away.
  Georgina on the other hand, wants to milk it for all that it's worth, who would do that to their grandfather?
  Gal
• YAWN!
  They are comedians who use shock and controversy as tools of the trade. Yes they did go over the line a bit but is there really any need for all this debate? No one died yet and the publicity some self generated has not harmed either Mr Sachs's beloved though slightly tainted granddaughter or indeed himself (remind me when was the last time we heard of him?). Jonathan Ross is basically a good and decent family man who loves his job and enjoys being a bit cheeky. Can't comment on the other guy as I never watch or listen to him. Which brings me to the next point: Hands up who was even listening to the broadcast anyway? No, Me neither!! The facts of the matter are that two people complained on the night of the broadcast and that was because of the language not the the actual prank. The Hack rag press got on the old crusading wagon as the Beckhams, Madonna and Jade Goody must have been out of town and presto you have a media frenzy suitable for covering up some of the worries of the financial crisis they have done to death. Lets move on people, there is nothing to see here except maybe Andrew Sachs return to mainstream TV?
  tronstermonster
• I think that it was out of order and that Russel Brand was very mature in making the decission to leave the BBC. Jonathon Ross is taking his time in properly owning up. Once they have propperly appologized i think that they should be suspended for like a month and then they both come back! It's all blown out of proportion!
  iLoveeYouXXXXXX
• Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross have shown themselves to be very stupid and lacking in intelligence and respect. I wish there were some decent heavy weights of humour on TV. It's all a bit boring and smutty these days. Can't the BBC find some talent that doesn't have to resort to degrading people for a kick?
  Bekablue
• I agree with the penalties levied on JR. I don't think RB behaved badly enough to warrant his axing. On balance I think that JR was more at fault.
  NormaJ
• I am disgusted at the way the BBC have treated Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross following their telephone prank they played on Andrew Sachs. And that they cancelled shows I enjoyed.
  The day the radio show aired the BBC received just TWO complaints about the phone prank. Then, almost a whole week later the Daily Mail sparked up a media frenzy and urged their readers to complain to Ofcom about the broadcast - even though they had not listened to it! There is even doubt over whether the calls where actually recored on Andrew Sach's answer phone!
  Following the hype, some of my favorite shows have been taken off the air and it looks like others are under threat - ALL BECAUSE OF WHAT SEEMS LIKE A NEWSPAPER WITCH HUNT! Why have the BBC have allowed a tabloid newspaper to dictate their program scheduling?
  Ross and Brand apologised to Mr Sachs, he excepted it - it's not up to other people to complain on his behalf! We are told that 37,000 people complained to Ofcom about the broadcast. Well, I run a support group for Ross, Brand and the future of our comedy and we have over 51,000 SUPPORTERS registered with us since Tuesday night last week. The numbers are growing as I type this letter. I know our group is not an official pole like Ofcoms. But as we have no official pole to register our support with, this is all we can do - our opinions should matter too.
  Here is the link to the group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42215213905&ref=mf
  The thing is, no one has been listening to us so far, and it is very frustrating. Only a few of local radio stations covered our figures and we've only had very small mentions in just a couple of newspapers. Why is it it's only the negative stuff the media are interested in? WE ARE LICENCE PAYERS TOO!
  In my opinion, The Daily Mail have had a hidden agenda for urging their readers to complain about shows they know nothing about. They have reported that have a problem with Ross's pay and do not understand Brand's modern humour. Have they been waiting for the two to slip up and the BBC has fallen right into their hands?
  JulieFrank
• I am disgusted at the way the BBC have treated Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross following their telephone prank they played on Andrew Sachs. And that they cancelled shows I enjoyed.
  The day the radio show aired the BBC received just TWO complaints about the phone prank. Then, almost a whole week later the Daily Mail sparked up a media frenzy and urged their readers to complain to Ofcom about the broadcast - even though they had not listened to it! There is even doubt over whether the calls where actually recored on Andrew Sach's answer phone!
  Following the hype, some of my favorite shows have been taken off the air and it looks like others are under threat - ALL BECAUSE OF WHAT SEEMS LIKE A NEWSPAPER WITCH HUNT! Why have the BBC have allowed a tabloid newspaper to dictate their program scheduling?
  Ross and Brand apologised to Mr Sachs, he excepted it - it's not up to other people to complain on his behalf! We are told that 37,000 people complained to Ofcom about the broadcast. Well, I run a support group for Ross, Brand and the future of our comedy and we have over 51,000 SUPPORTERS registered with us since Tuesday night last week. The numbers are growing as I type this letter. I know our group is not an official pole like Ofcoms. But as we have no official pole to register our support with, this is all we can do - our opinions should matter too.
  Here is the link to the group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42215213905&ref=mf
  The thing is, no one has been listening to us so far, and it is very frustrating. Only a few of local radio stations covered our figures and we've only had very small mentions in just a couple of newspapers. Why is it it's only the negative stuff the media are interested in? WE ARE LICENCE PAYERS TOO!
  In my opinion, The Daily Mail have had a hidden agenda for urging their readers to complain about shows they know nothing about. They have reported that have a problem with Ross's pay and do not understand Brand's modern humour. Have they been waiting for the two to slip up and the BBC has fallen right into their hands?
  JulieFrank
• I think what Ross and Brand said was in very bad taste and they should have been disciplined for being so stupid. Most of all I think a face to face meeting with Andrew Sachs to apologise would have been sought.
  Perhaps they could have both donated a substantial amount to Andrew's choice of charity.
  The BBC should also have beeen dealt some sort of punishment.
  I particulary thought that Andrew's granddaughter should have taken a step back as I am sure that her private life upset her grandfather more than what Ross and Russell said.
  wenders