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When Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross failed to reach their celebrity guest, 78 year-old \u2018Fawlty Towers\u2019 star Andrew Sachs, they instead left him a series of answerphone messages, joking about sexual encounters with Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. The segment aired on Brand\u2019s Radio 2 show on 18th October, 2008, and became the third most-complained about programme in recent BBC history.\nThe presenters were suspended, the station controller resigned, and the BBC was fined \xa3150,000. The event, which became known as \u2018Sachsgate\u2019, kick-started an era of \u2018compliance\u2019 at Britain\u2019s national broadcaster, and was an early example of tabloid-generated \u2018cancel culture\u2019.\nIn this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca ask whether the presenters would still be in their old jobs, were it not for the Mail On Sunday; discover a parallel between one of Sachs\u2019 greatest comic moments and the voicemails that brought him back to national attention; and speculate whether \u2018Sachsgate\u2019 lead to the boom in comedy podcasts\u2026\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross Abuse Andrew Sachs via Phone\u2019 (BBC, 2008):\xa0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7IHJ66wj9g&t=476s\n\u2022 \u2018Sachsgate: The obscene prank calls from Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross that 'haunted' Andrew Sachs before his death\u2019 (Daily Mirror, 2016):\xa0https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/sachsgate-obscene-prank-calls-russell-9376380\n\u2022 \u2018BBC apologises over Brand prank\u2019 (BBC, 2008):\xa0http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7692911.stm\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.\n#2000s #Person #Arts #Funny #UK\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices