Alex Mahon, boss of U.K. public service broadcaster Channel 4, has called the allegations against comedian Russell Brand “horrendous.”
“The clips we’ve seen provide a rather shocking jolt,” she also said of the many videos that have emerged of Brand’s behavior and comments on TV that have emerged in the aftermath of the allegations.
Brand has been accused of sexual assault and rape by four women. The allegations were made public last weekend in a joint investigation by The Times of London, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 documentary team “Dispatches.”
For many years the comedian was a familiar face on Channel 4, presenting “Big Brother” spin-off “Big Brother’s Big Mouth.”
In the “Dispatches” documentary, many of those who worked with Brand during his time at Channel 4 and on other networks spoke of behavior that made them uncomfortable, including picking up young audience members. Clips were also shown of his stand-up and hosting gigs in which he made inappropriate comments and was handsy with guests.
Mahon’s speech at the Royal Television Society conference in Cambridge on Wednesday also addressed the plethora of content available to viewers, saying that PSBs are sitting on a “generational timebomb.”
“We must urgently recognise that those of us who are U.K. PSBs are sitting on a generational timebomb,” Mahon told the audience, which included BBC boss Tim Davie, who is set to speak later on Wednesday.
Speaking about the changing ways in which viewers consume content, Mahon spoke of the importance of PSBs, saying they play “to that sense of connection to people’s own local, regional or national concerns.”
But she pointed out young people are no longer as connected to traditional U.K. PSBs, instead pivoting to streamers and short form social media.
“The brands for young viewers are on different services, they navigate differently,” Mahon said. “We don’t know yet what that will mean, but it is safe to say there has been much more profound change for them than their parents experienced.”
