Ofcom has declared that Russell Brand breached their broadcasting rules during a recent interview on his Radio X show.
The media regulator received complaints from listeners following his show on Sunday 28 May, which aired between 11am and 1pm, after Russell asked an Elvis Presley impersonator whether he’d ever had sex in character as The King.
After posing the question, Russell continued: “You ‘ave ain’t you? I could tell from the ‘oooh’.”
The impersonator in question then confessed to having “done it without the jumpsuit, but I have kept the cape on”, to which Russell replied: “That’s good, that’s how to do it. You can’t have sex with a jump suit on.”
Following this, Russell’s guest made reference to his “spiked” costume, which can apparently prove tricky “if you’re on top of somebody”, which prompted the comedian to declare: “You’re a bit of a brutal lover there, James.”
After investigating the matter, Ofcom has now issued a statement, ruling that Global and Radio X breached their guidelines by airing the segment.
They said: “We investigated this Sunday morning show, and found the content included sexual references that were unsuitable for a time when children were likely to be listening.”
A Global spokesperson told Ofcom that Russell Brand is known for his “style of humour”, meaning listeners would therefore “expect edgier content in his show than on family-orientated pop music stations”.
However, they added that they would take the criticism on board for future shows.
Of course, this is far from the first time Russell has sparked controversy with one of his radio shows, infamously coming under fire back in 2008 when he and Jonathan Ross left a string of inappropriate messages on Andrew Sachs’ voicemail.
Both presenters faced a suspension over the incident, with Russell swiftly announcing his resignation.
Jonathan eventually returned to the BBC, but quit just under a year later, to move to a new show on ITV.
