Two more complainants come forward with Russell Brand allegations, BBC says

Two more complainants have come forward to the BBC since it launched a review into Russell Brand’s behaviour, the corporation has said.

It comes after four women alleged in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches that the comedian and TV and radio presenter sexually assaulted them between 2006 and 2013.

In the programme, which aired on Channel 4 on September 16, one woman claimed she was sexually assaulted by Brand during a three-month relationship when she was 16 and another alleged she was raped at his Los Angeles home in 2012.

Brand, who worked on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music programmes from 2006 to 2008, has strongly denied the allegations.

The nature of the latest allegations is not specified in an update on the BBC’s review into Brand’s conduct.

A total of five complaints have now been made directly to the BBC, the update added.

They include two individuals who raised complaints and concerns between 2006 and 2008, when Brand was employed at the corporation, and again after he left the BBC.

The complaints also include an allegation of misconduct in LA in 2008.

The BBC previously said it would be conducting a review of claims Brand flashed a woman before laughing about it on his radio show.

The incident allegedly happened when the woman was working in the same building as the corporation’s office in the US city.

The report update says the investigation is “in no way complete” but “it would appear that no disciplinary action was taken against Russell Brand during his engagement with the BBC in 2006-8 prior to his departure from the BBC”.

A BBC spokesperson said: “Our investigations so far indicate a total of five complaints directly to the BBC: two individuals raised complaints and concerns during 2006-8 and raised these issues again after Russell Brand left the BBC.

“A separate complaint was made by another individual after Russell Brand had left the BBC in relation to the 2008 allegation in LA.

“Two further complainants have come forward since the review began. Some others have also come forward to share their observations and to raise general concerns about that period.

“It is also clear from Audience feedback that there was a wider concern about the tone and content of some of Russell Brand’s shows.*