Editing Jonathan Ross (section)

===''The Russell Brand Show'' and Andrew Sachs===
{{Main|The Russell Brand Show prank calls}}

Following a guest appearance by Ross on ''[[The Russell Brand Show (radio show)|The Russell Brand Show]]'' broadcast on 18 October 2008, Ross was suspended for 12 weeks without pay by the BBC on 29 October, after a series of lewd answerphone messages, including Ross saying, "He fucked your granddaughter", were left for then 78-year-old actor [[Andrew Sachs]] regarding Sachs' granddaughter [[Georgina Baillie]], by [[Russell Brand]] and Ross, which were broadcast on the pre-recorded show.<ref name="suspended">{{cite news|date=29 October 2008|title=Brand and Ross suspended by BBC|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7696714.stm|access-date=29 October 2008|archive-date=8 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908220523/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7696714.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> After little initial interest, a media story about the calls by the ''Daily Mail'' generated a high number of complaints. Brand resigned from the BBC, while Ross was suspended without pay. BBC director general [[Mark Thompson (media executive)|Mark Thompson]] stated that Ross should take the disciplinary action as a "final warning".<ref>{{cite news|date=30 October 2008|title=The ups and downs of Ross' career|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7700656.stm|access-date=30 October 2008|archive-date=2 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081102065310/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7700656.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=30 October 2008|title=Ross suspended for three months|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7700816.stm|access-date=30 October 2008|archive-date=2 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081102065315/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7700816.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The BBC was later fined £150,000 by Britain's broadcast regulator for airing the calls.<ref>{{cite news|last=Khan|first=Urmee|date=3 April 2009|title=BBC fined £150,000 over Brand's prank calls|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5099055/BBC-fined-150000-over-Brands-prank-calls.html|access-date=8 October 2009|archive-date=8 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408002719/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5099055/BBC-fined-150000-over-Brands-prank-calls.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 21 November 2008, the [[BBC Trust]] said that the phone calls were a "deplorable intrusion with no editorial justification".<ref>{{cite news|date=21 November 2008|title='No justification' for Brand show|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7741322.stm|access-date=21 November 2008|archive-date=25 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125104715/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7741322.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The trust gave its backing to Ross's 12-week suspension but recommended that no further action be taken against him. He returned to work in January 2009 with a new series of ''Friday Night''. From 23 May 2009, Ross's BBC Radio 2 show was recorded 24 hours before broadcast.<ref>{{cite news|date=22 May 2009|title=Ross's radio show no longer live –|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8063092.stm|access-date=29 March 2014|archive-date=26 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526224309/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8063092.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>