BBC suspends presenters for crude messages to actor

The BBC said yesterday it had suspended Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross for their "gross lapse of taste" as the row escalates over crude messages they left on the answerphone of actor Andrew Sachs during a radio show.

The Radio 2 presenters had joked on air that Brand had slept with the granddaughter of 78-year-old Sachs, who played Spanish waiter Manuel in the classic comedy series "Fawlty Towers", and said he might kill himself after hearing their messages.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has joined the voices condemning the presenters' actions while Georgina Baillie, Sachs' 23-year-old granddaughter, said they should be sacked.