RUSSELL BRAND resigned from his BBC Radio 2 programme last night while taking "complete responsibility" for the prank calls he made with guest co-presenter Jonathan Ross to Fawlty Towersactor Andrew Sachs.
The comedian fell on his sword after the BBC had earlier bowed to prime ministerial and public pressure and suspended both stars pending a report into the decision to broadcast their "lewd" telephone calls to Mr Sachs on Brand's show on 18 October.
BBC director general Mark Thompson announced his decision after the corporation received some 18,000 complaints from members of the public and following prime minister Gordon Brown's demand for "appropriate action" from Britain's public service broadcaster.
One senior BBC executive had earlier suggested that the mounting public furore had been partly driven by "salary envy and schadenfreude", insisting the BBC was under fire from its "usual critics" and that younger viewers had been broadly supportive of Brand and Ross. Ross earns a reputed £6 million (€7.6 million) a year.
However, Mr Thompson broke silence to brand the broadcast a "gross lapse of taste" and cause of "severe offence". As Brand flew to America for "work reasons" and recording for this week's Friday Night With Jonathan Rossprogramme was cancelled, the director general said it was "not appropriate" for either entertainer to continue broadcasting until he (Mr Thompson) had seen "the full report of the actions of all concerned".
However, in his surprise statement Brand announced: "As I only do the radio show to make people laugh I've decided that, given the subsequent coverage, I will stop doing the show."
He continued: "I got a bit caught up in the moment and forgot that, at the core of the rude comments and silly songs, were the real feelings of a beloved and brilliant comic actor and a very sweet and big-hearted young woman."
Mr Thompson also apologised to Mr Sachs (78), for the series of messages left on his answerphone boasting that Brand had slept with Mr Sachs's granddaughter Georgina Baillie (23) and joking that the actor might kill himself.
Ross also offered his "full apology" for what he admitted were "juvenile and thoughtless remarks" during the programme in which he appeared as guest co-presenter.
However, separate inquiries by the BBC and the broadcast regulator Ofcom will want to establish why the BBC had originally denied any knowledge of the complaint lodged on Mr Sachs's behalf by his agent Meg Poole after she had been alerted to the contents of the broadcast by the Mail on Sunday.
Before Brand's resignation statement, Mr Sachs said he was "not surprised" by the suspensions, while confirming it was not his intention to report the matter to the police and stressing he was "not out for revenge".
That clarification came after Ms Baillie had branded both presenters "cruel sickos" and called for their dismissal.
Ms Baillie, who has admitted sleeping with Brand three times after they met in 2006, told the Sun: "They are beyond contempt . . . It was bad enough they recorded these things on my grandfather's answer machine but astonishing that the BBC thought fit to broadcast it when they could have stopped it . . . They've shown appalling judgment."
Mr Thompson said BBC audiences accepted that, in comedy, performers attempt to push the line of taste but declared this was not a "marginal" case.
"It is clear from the views expressed by the public that this broadcast has caused severe offence and I share that view," Mr Thompson added.
"This gross lapse of taste by the performers and the production team has angered licence payers. I am determined that we satisfy them that any lessons will be learnt and appropriate action take."