GMB’s Susanna Reid awkwardly asks Richard Madeley ‘if he knew’ about Russell Brand’s sexual assault allegations as she grills him over his 2007 interview with the comedian
Good Morning Susanna Reid from Great Britain questioned co-host Richard Madeley live on Monday about his 2007 interview with Russell Brand.
Richard, 67, appeared to make a barbed comment during the resurfaced interview when it was briefly shown during Saturday’s packed documentary Dispatches.
Russell, now 48, is currently facing allegations of sexual abuse and abusive and predatory behavior between 2006 and 2013, when he was at the height of his post-film fame. Accusations he denies.
And Susanna, 52, asked her co-host if he had heard any rumors before the hearing about the former Big Brother presenter’s alleged behavior – which has since been claimed to be an ‘open secret’ within the industry.
Nearly two decades ago, Russell appeared alongside Richard and his wife Judy Finnigan, 75, on their Channel 4 show to promote his second memoir My Booky Wooky 2.
Tough: Good morning Britain’s Susanna Reid, 52, toughly questioned co-host Richard Madeley, 67, about his 2007 interview with Russell Brand, live on air Monday
Allegations: Richard, 67, appeared to make a barbed comment during the resurfaced interview when it was briefly shown during Saturday’s packed documentary Dispatches (pictured)
As Judy introduces him and the book by saying: ‘It is an incredibly honest report addiction and self-harm and it was written by Russell Brand – the sweet, innocent Russell Brand.”
While Richard joked: ‘Butter wouldn’t melt.’
Susanna asked if he had actually made the joke consciously, but Richard replied that he was completely unaware of any criminal accusation.
He stated that all he knew about Russell’s reputation was that of a “womanizer.”
Since Brand was the subject of an investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches, more women have come forward with allegations about the way he treated them, it has emerged.
The Times and Sunday Times claim that ‘several women’ made secret allegations about Brand’s behavior in the early 2000s, in the wake of their joint investigation with Channel 4 published on Saturday.
The latest allegations – which the newspaper says have not been investigated but are now being ‘rigorously monitored’ – follow accusations from four women, including one who claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand during a three-month relationship with him when she was 16. and still at school.
The BBC is also now facing ‘urgent questions’ after it was claimed Brand used his company-provided car service to pick up the girl from school.
Interview: Susanna asked if he had actually made the joke consciously, but Richard said he was completely unaware of any criminal accusation
Candid: He stated that all he knew about Russell’s reputation was that of a “womanizer.”
It comes as both BBC and Channel 4 have launched internal investigations into separate allegations of predatory behavior by Brand towards staff and the public during his time in service.
Channel 4 has since removed all programs linked to Brand from its website, including episodes of The Great British Bake Off and Big Brother’s Big Mouth in which he appeared, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Netflix has since been urged to remove its comedy special, titled Re:Birth, from its streaming catalog.
The maverick actor and stand-up comedian has strongly denied all allegations and blamed the ‘mainstream media’ for the ‘litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks’.
BBC chiefs tried to investigate Brand last night after the comedian was accused of rape.
Their investigation was announced minutes before Scotland Yard stepped up the pressure by announcing that detectives would like to speak to the comedian’s alleged victims.
Scary: Russell, now 48, is currently facing allegations of sexual assault and abusive and predatory behavior between 2006 and 2013. Pictured: Russell Brand hosting Big Brother’s Little Brother in May 2006
One accuser, Alice (pictured), claims that Russell Brand sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old. She claims he would send a car to pick her up from high school, which she has since claimed was a ‘BBC car’
The comedian released a video last week in which he refuted all the allegations against him. Pictured: Brand leaving the Troubabour Wembley Park theater after a performance on Saturday evening
Brand, a former BBC and Channel 4 star, is facing startling claims from women of sexual violence, abuse and predatory behavior – including one who was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
But claims from one businesswoman – who claimed Brand raped her when she refused a threesome – and another who said she was 16 when he strangled her during a sex act sparked a firestorm yesterday.
Among the complaints raised in the investigation were allegations from a woman, named Alice to protect her identity, who claims she was sexually abused by Brand as a 16-year-old.
She claims he was ‘preoccupied’ with her being ‘innocent and pure’ and often called her ‘The Child’.
Alice described his behavior towards her as “grooming”, as Brand allegedly gave her scripts on how to trick her parents into allowing her to visit him. She also claimed that he would send his ‘BBC car’ to her high school to pick her up.
“The first time I used it, he told me he was booked to take him to his radio show, but he had a friend who took him instead, so I had to use that car,” she told The Times.
She claimed that the driver once took her from Brand’s house to her grandmother’s house and that the same car “picked me up from school” on another occasion.
Alice added: ‘It was the same car… I knew it was a BBC car.’
The BBC did not initially launch an investigation, but amid growing outrage it changed its position last night and a spokesperson said it was ‘urgently investigating the issues’.
In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: ‘The documentary and associated reports contain serious allegations spanning a number of years.
‘Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programs between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently investigating the issues raised.’
The broadcaster yesterday launched an internal investigation into what was known about Brand’s alleged conduct following claims that at least one senior executive was aware of complaints against the comedian and had apparently dismissed them.