I worked at Channel 4 during the Russell Brand era. Ask me anything

[Channel4er]

I've thought long and hard about whether do do this AMA because people will probably be after salacious titbits which I neither have nor am interested in however there's been a lot of talk about Channel 4's role in the Brand affair and I thought I might be able to shed some light on what the culture at Channel 4 was actually like around that time.

In order to remain anonymous there may be some questions I can't answer. I've name changed but am a long standing MNer.

I think accusations should be reported to the police and investigated by the legal system, not by newspapers and TV companies. I have no interest in what someone who works for one of the companies at the time might think. Will you be called as a witness? I highly doubt it.
I'm no fan of Russell Brand. I think he is odious. But it's up to the legal system to decide through investigation and evidence whether he broke the law. It's not up to randoms listening to tittle tattle on social media.

In an ideal world, I agree with you. However, I have seen one too many women's cases be dismissed due to lack of evidence and then they have to pick up the pieces while the men brushed themselves down and carried on.

One uni lecturer (after students spoke up) was told to reread the university's dignity and respect policies, and that was the end of that.

This all feels very uncomfortable to observe (and RB makes my skin crawl. I never found him likable or funny) but I am delighted that their victims are not only speaking up, but being listened too, and heard.

Don’t be silly.

Media speculation may well jeopardise a trial though

Q: how much Class A drug use was there in C4 on production and back office, and if they were sharing their stash around with on air talent, did it create a sort of Omerta in not challenging other behaviours like the harrasment

Given what we know about mainstream UK media, I do not understand why any intelligent person would believe anything they report. Let me give you a very simple recent example of how UK media collaborate with the establishment or their political masters to mislead. In October 2022 the whole of Europe and the USA knew the queen was dying of bone cancer, was that ever disclosed to us in the UK by any British newspaper or news outlet, even the lefty channel 4 news. No, we were told by the press that she was cancelling appearances because she had, wait for it, gout. Before I purchased a VPN one of the highlights of visiting the USA was that I could read about what British politicians had really been up to. Didn't people ever think it strange that American news organisations have to publish British Editions of their newspapers, as many US mainstream newspapers are banned in the UK, when you try to access their website you are blocked, please note I am not talking about crazy newspaper websites. My point we knew all of this about Brand, let us not forget, despite his bad behaviour what did channel 4 and the BBC do, they kept on promoting him.

Your big reveal about the UK media collaborating with the establishment is that …the Queen had gout? 😂

The Queen’s health was her own business, she could decide who she told, including the public.

Didn't people ever think it strange that American news organisations have to publish British Editions of their newspapers, as many US mainstream newspapers are banned in the UK, when you try to access their website you are blocked, please note I am not talking about crazy newspaper websites.

No, it’s not strange at all. Some of the websites are blocked because they are behind a paywall. Some are blocked due to copyright reasons.

If you have a VPN you can access those US editions so it’s hard top secret info.

@Channel4er Do you actually have any valuable or interesting insight here? It seems like you’re as clueless and as speculating as the rest of us. I’m not sure what extra knowledge you’re claiming to have? I’m not sure your former position really warranted an AMA

Libel laws in the UK and the US are different, and are tighter here - that will be one reason for the difference. Not that the US is touting facts the UK don’t have access to, just that they don’t want to be sued.

OP my questions:

Have you met Russell Brand?

Whether or not you’ve met him, do you think he’s guilty?

Yet more rape apologists and those citing MSM wanting to silence Brand. It's getting seriously ridiculous and really quite offensive now.

Brand has behaved appallingly. There is no excuse for his behaviour, and no-one wants to silence him. In fact, quite the opposite, it's his loyal fans who want to silence and shut down the current discourse. It's these people who need to wake up.

If it was so simple for any victim of rape and/or sexual abuse to report this to the police and get a conviction, then yes, Brand's victims would probably have done this. But the prosecution rate is minuscule, and before a case even gets to court, the police need to put it to the CSA. Most rape cases don't even get this far anyway. Add in a celebrity into the mix, and there's little to no change anything will be done because the police just don't want to get involved - they would only do so if there was actual filmed evidence of the abuse. But there wasn't, and Brand has a litigious legal team on his side. Unlike the US media when anyone can report anything whether true or not, the UK media is rigorusly checked. Programmes like Dispptches have to go through countless legal checks before airing, and Brand was given the right to reply to the expose and allegations but he chose not to. He knows the jig is up, and opted to address the world, but mostly his loyal followers via his Youtube channel.

Do you think RB is one of the worst or are there many like him in the industry? Why a program about him and not others who behave similar?

Do you all believe the OP did work at C4 ?

Just because they say they did don't make it true does it

@Channel4er

You have said

The channel had a big shake up around that time with the Shilpa Sherry racism row and there was increased scrutiny around the responsibility of a public service broadcaster.

It was Shiloh Shetty, actually.

Well, wryly. Of course the assault aspect is horrific but it’s the “horror” of the schoolgirl/age issue that’s being played out. And that was utterly normal.

I honestly believe this was all normal behaviour for men with power at the time (and certainly in the decade/s before).

It’s a massive relief to me that this is now greeted with the acknowledgement of how abhorrent/illegal it is, which gives me some
hope for the future, but I don’t believe that Brand was an exception. I hope a lot of men spend the rest of their lives in terror that their crimes will catch up with them.

🤣

No, it was Shilpa Shetty.

OP has explained her phone auto-corrected Shetty to Sherry.

And your phone seems to have corrected Shilpa to Shiloh 🤣

or Shilpa Shetty actually

But I’m glad the racism Shilpa Shetty faced shook things up.

The behaviour of Jade Goody, Jo O’Meara and Danielle Lloyd was disgusting.

I believe it was actually Sherpa Sherry

Not sure why OP is getting a hard time. She has explained she can’t answer questions that may identify her.

I think the thread was useful, it chimes in with my own view, that whilst Channel 4 wasn’t directly involved with RB during Big Brother, the Channel 4 commissioning editors would have known what he was getting up to but did nothing.

OP has also said she believes the women who say they were raped.

If people read between the lines, OP has said plenty.

Taken from another Talkboard (Basil Seal HT tip)

"The great irony is these twats spend their waking lives droning on about paedo islands and secret child abuse networks based on no evidence whatsoever but when shown a text message from one of their idols apologising to a woman for having raped her, they suddenly come over all innocent until proven guilty."

Yes, I do believe her. It’s easy to verify if you ask MNHQ.

🤣

Shilpa played a blinder on that programme, loved her.

Numerous celebrities have been prosecuted and convicted for sexual offences. It's not true at all that 'there is little to no chance anything will be done because the Police just don't want to get involved'.

I understand that emotions are high but it's so damaging to victims and future victims to keep hearing this narrative of there's no point in reporting, the Police don't care, no-one cares, don't even bother..