Russell Brand is an ‘unwell sex addict’, says Andrew Sachs’ granddaughter & reveals BBC radio prank call ruined her life
ANDREW Sachs’ granddaughter has branded Russell Brand a “a seriously unwell sex addict” after the fiend was found guilty of rape and sexual assault.
Brand and Jonathan Ross left vulgar voicemails on the Fawlty Towers legend’s phone after sleeping with his granddaughter Georgina Baillie, who was 21 at the time.
The jibes were made during a series of prank calls broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2008.
In a series of three voicemails left on Sachs’ phone, Brand and Ross made repeated graphic claims about Brand’s sex life with Georgina.
Later in the show, Ross said if people were offended by the prank calls they were “crazy”.
The scandal, which became known as Sachsgate, saw Brand resign from the BBC and Ross suspended from his TV show for three months.
On Thursday, Brand was found guilty of rape and sex attacks on a string of victims as part of a depraved campaign to sleep with 5,000 women.
Georgina, now 41, told the Daily Mail it’s now “obvious” to her that Brand is a sex addict, adding “that boy is seriously unwell”.
She said she’s “disappointed” with Brand and wants him to “own up and make the amends” after being found guilty.
“I want those victims to get some help. I really do. It’s possible to recover from this, it’s hard having experienced sexual assault myself- though not at the hands of Russell,” she continued.
The 41-year-old provided a statement to be used in mitigation for Brand’s trial, but it was never used.
Speaking about their fling, she said: “He was seeing loads of women, and I knew that. I was never in any doubt whatsoever that I was one of many but I didn’t really care at the time. He had his drug of choice on tap all day. I was just a piece of that, I was only one line out of many.”
Georgina said she was “completely dazzled by celebrity” when she first met Brand, now 51.
Their consensual fling came at a time when she was in the throes of addiction. He was 10 years older than her at the time.
Both Brand and Ross apologised for their actions later in 2008. The corporation was fined £150,000 by the regulator Ofcom over the lewd jokes.
Georgina said previously: “I was really lost back then. After Sachsgate, Russell made millions of pounds doing a stand-up routine about it and that was very hard and painful for me – I was the butt of the joke, I was young and didn’t know how to process it and I turned to drink and drugs.”
“It was a very unnerving time. Not only had my grandparents heard what I had been up to sexually, which anybody would recoil at, but then it was all the ‘boys will be boys’ attitude.
Brand went on to apologise to Georgina in person 11 years after the stunt, and paid for her rehab.
But she lost out on eight years with her granddad as the pair stopped speaking.
Former burlesque performer Georgina made up with her grandfather before he died aged 86 in November 2016.
In a 2015 interview, Georgina said her grandparents had a lot to forgive her for.
She told the Daily Mirror: “I love and miss them so much. I admit I was a nightmare in my early 20s. I’ve tried to repair my relationship with my grandparents. They were understandably angry.”
A BBC spokesman said at the time: “Russell Brand worked for a number of different organisations, of which the BBC was one. As is well known, Russell Brand left the BBC after a serious editorial breach in 2008 – as did the then-controller of Radio 2.
“The circumstances of the breach were reviewed in detail at the time.
“We hope that demonstrates that the BBC takes issues seriously and is prepared to act.
“Indeed, the BBC has, over successive years, evolved its approach to how it manages talent and how it deals with complaints or issues raised.
“We have clear expectations around conduct at work, these are set out in employment contracts, the BBC Values, the BBC Code of Conduct and the Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy.
“We will always listen to people if they come forward with any concerns, on any issue related to any individual working at the BBC, past or present.”
Brand preyed on women between 1999 and 2009 and used his growing fame – from presenting Big Brother’s Big Mouth and Hollywood movies – to target the victims in a range of locations.
On Thursday, a jury found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault after deliberating for eight and a half hours.
The 51-year-old is facing years in jail after the court heard he became a “ruthless, calculated and manipulative” predator as he sought to satisfy his “voracious” sexual appetite.
Brand has been accused of raping two more women and could now face further criminal charges, it was revealed after the verdicts.
The court heard that one of the complaints comes from a woman who dated Brand when he was 30 years old and another was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
Brand, who told his wife Laura Gallacher “I love you” after entering the dock, displayed no emotion as the jury delivered its verdicts, at the end of a trial that lasted nearly four weeks.
He was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on Monday. The judge told Brand he should expect a “significant custodial term”.