In an episode of The Russell Brand Show broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Saturday 18 October 2008, comedian Russell Brand and presenter Jonathan Ross made prank calls to actor Andrew Sachs that created controversy in the United Kingdom. Brand and Ross called Sachs to interview him on air; when he did not answer, they left lewd messages on his answering machine, including comments about Brand's relationship with Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie. After initially receiving little attention, a 26 October article in The Mail on Sunday led to widespread criticism of Brand, Ross and the editorial decisions of the BBC. The event became known as Sachsgate or Manuelgate (a reference to Sachs' Fawlty Towers character Manuel). Brand and Ross were criticised by a number of MPs, including the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and the BBC received a record number of complaints. The BBC suspended Ross while it and Ofcom launched investigations. Both Brand and Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas resigned from the BBC. On 30 October, the BBC suspended Ross without pay for twelve weeks. The BBC was fined £150,000 by Ofcom. Background From April 2006 through to October 2008, Russell Brand presented the weekly BBC radio show The Russell Brand Show, with co-host Matt Morgan. Brand was also joined by a variety of celebrity guests, including Noel Gallagher, Noel Fielding, Jonah Hill and Morrissey. On 11 October 2008, David Baddiel co-hosted Brand's show. Baddiel recalled having met Georgina Baillie at Brand's home and being told that her grandfather was actor Andrew Sachs. According to Baddiel, Baillie said: "Don't tell him I was here!" Prank calls On Thursday 16 October 2008, Sachs, who portrayed Manuel in the 1970s BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers, was scheduled to be a phone-in guest on Brand's evening radio show. The show was pre-recorded due to Brand's work commitments. Brand had briefly been in a relationship with Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie. After being unable to reach Sachs on his home telephone, Brand and his co-host of the week, fellow Radio 2 DJ Jonathan Ross, left Sachs four voice messages on his answering machine. In the first message, Brand joked about Fawlty Towers and the fact that both he and Sachs had appeared in The Bill, but was interrupted by Ross shouting out "he fucked your granddaughter". The rest of the message and the following three messages were all characterised by Brand and Ross attempting to