Sachs prank worked out well - Brand (From Preston and Leyland Citizen)

Sachs prank worked out well - Brand

12:30am Tuesday 1st December 2009

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Russell Brand has said he would have done nothing differently over the prank calls he and Jonathan Ross made to Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs - saying the scandal "worked out really well".

Brand resigned from his Radio 2 show, which broadcast the lewd remarks made by Brand and Ross, and Ross was suspended for three months over the affair.

The incident in October last year sparked a frenzy of more than 40,000 complaints, numerous apologies and a clampdown on the BBC's compliance rules.

In April, Ofcom fined the BBC £150,000 over the lewd phone calls, describing them as "gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning".

Russell, 34, has been carving out a Hollywood career and is developing a re-make of the Dudley Moore comedy Arthur, the boozy tale of a wayward playboy.

He is also dating 25-year-old singer Katy Perry, who recently wore a West Ham United-themed outfit in homage to her boyfriend at the MTV European Music Awards, with Brand's nickname "Rusty" embroidered on the backside of her knickers.

Speaking to New! magazine, Russell also said the situation might have turned out differently if Sachs had answered his calls - adding: "It isn't that hard to pick up a phone." He was asked if he had put "Sachsgate" behind him.

Brand replied: "I would have done nothing differently. I think it worked out really well. I am really happy with what I am doing now - happy in my personal life and happy with my professional life.

"I apologised for the thing I did wrong to the person I did it wrong to. But it would have been nice if Andrew Sachs had answered his phone in retrospect."

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