TV insiders say Brand case reveals persistent sexism

Naomi Harvey and her colleagues in the audience research team for Big Brother’s Big Mouth concluded that action was needed regarding host Russell Brand, even within the casual culture of the mid-2000s television industry. The team had observed Brand’s habit of instructing a junior runner to collect the phone numbers of female audience members. This behavior escalated when a distressed member of the public contacted Harvey to complain about being invited for drinks by Brand after a show. Harvey recalled feeling taken aback by the caller’s distress and decided that the team had a responsibility to report the issue to their superior, though they never received a response.

While this specific incident is minor compared to the criminal findings from Brand’s trial, it exemplifies a broader culture that allowed his behavior to continue. The case has prompted difficult questions for the BBC, Channel 4, and associated production companies about whether recent improvements in safeguarding will prevent similar abuses. During the trial, the television industry appeared to stand behind Brand, with one accuser stating that the media industry protects its own. Another woman, a former MTV employee, explained that she did not report an incident because she was afraid, noting that Brand was a major asset to the channel.

Rumors about Brand’s inappropriate conduct circulated in the stand-up comedy world long before he joined television, but formal allegations did not surface until 2023. A joint investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times brought the issues to light. Legal experts note that England’s strict defamation laws contributed to the delay. Charlie Moloney, co-author of a key legal text for journalists, explained that while many facts were open secrets, proving them in court was difficult. When challenged to provide evidence for widely known truths, many of those claims fell apart under scrutiny.

Public red flags were visible in Brand’s on-air behavior. In 2008, he laughed on BBC Radio 2 about exposing himself to a woman in the same building. He also used sexualized humor toward a newsreader, joking about unleashing hell on her thighs, and mocked production staff who asked him to apologize. In a 2007 interview with Jimmy Savile, he joked about sending a female assistant to him naked. Brand eventually departed the BBC following Sachsgate, an incident where he and Jonathan Ross left obscene messages for actor Andrew Sachs.

Subsequent reviews by the BBC, Channel 4, and Banijay UK, the owner of the production company behind Big Brother’s Big Mouth, examined how concerns about Brand were handled. Banijay’s report found that while no formal complaints were filed, informal ones, including those about collecting phone numbers, were not properly escalated. The BBC apologized after finding that staff had concerns but remained silent because they believed Brand would always get his way. Channel 4 found that one complaint did not reach senior management. All three organizations stated they have since improved their whistleblowing and safeguarding efforts.

Alex Mahon, a former Channel 4 executive who ordered the review, acknowledged that bad behavior toward women was tolerated for too long. He noted that people often stay silent not because they know it is wrong, but because they distrust the outcome of speaking up. While progress is being made, more than half of those experiencing bullying or harassment in the industry still do not report it. A new online portal for reporting harassment in the UK’s creative industries has recently launched to address these power imbalances.

Despite these efforts, many insiders believe the Brand case cannot be dismissed as a relic of the past. One insider described the prevailing rule in television as saying nothing and not rocking the boat, often to avoid being branded a troublemaker. Harvey observed that while broadcasters are more willing to listen now, the fear of losing jobs, particularly for freelancers, remains a significant barrier to speaking up.