I hope my non-British readers will forgive me a short but heartfelt rant on a recent and rather provincial issue. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the BBC's apparent authorisation of lewd comments left by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross on actor Andrew Sachs' home voicemail marks another twist in the spiral of disrepute into which the entertainment industry appears to be falling.

Through the force of incessant exposure, we've become somewhat inoculated against the idiocy of an industry that allows zero-talent wannabes to achieve overnight fame and million-dollar fortune for being nothing other than bizarre, promiscuous or generally inane. But the sight of two middle-aged men cavorting around with Bevis and Butthead adolescent immaturity, high on fame and assumed invincibility, is saddening. Not least, as it has probably irretrievably tainted my own perception of Jonathan Ross whom I have admired for years as perhaps one of the funniest, most sharp-witted and intelligent entertainers on the circuit. Of Russell Brand I would not have expected anything else.

I am sure that the reputation of the BBC on this occasion, despite clear managerial misjudgement, will transcend the personal ones of its two performers. But, as my German Grandmother used to say, "Show me your friends, and I'll tell you who you are." Perhaps someone should advise Jonathan Ross to choose his more wisely.

Labels: BBC, Jonathan Ross, managerial, reputation, Russell Brand