Russell Brand was given coveted BBC Comic Relief gig AFTER formal misconduct complaint, bombshell review reveals

The comedian, 49, was given the presenting role on the flagship charity telethon despite an employee raising concerns in 2016 about a previous incident where Brand had urinated in a cup during his Radio 2 show.

The complaint also included broader allegations about Brand's conduct at the BBC, which he has denied.

The employee first raised their complaint in 2007 after Brand allegedly urinated into a cup and bottle on two occasions while recording his Radio 2 show.

The employee raised the concerns again in 2013 during an external workplace culture review led by barrister Dinah Rose.

In 2016, they filed the complaint for a third time. However, the BBC case manager decided it was "not possible" to investigate further as it would require speaking to individuals outside the corporation.

The BBC has now apologised to the employee for its handling of the 2007 complaint.

As part of their complaint, the employee also raised concerns that Brand would bring "groups of girls" to BBC premises, according to the review by Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints.

The review does not indicate whether these wider allegations were investigated by the BBC.

It also fails to clarify if information about Brand's conduct was shared with executives involved in commissioning content and booking presenters.

When Brand was given the Comic Relief role, Charlotte Moore, now BBC's chief content officer, was responsible for BBC One, while Tim Davie, the current director general, headed BBC Studios.

The BBC has declined to say whether Moore or Davie were made aware of the 2016 complaint.

Johnston's review revealed another serious incident from 2008 at the BBC's Los Angeles bureau, where Brand allegedly followed a woman into a bathroom and exposed himself.

The woman, identified as "Olivia" in the report, said Brand joked about the incident on air minutes later.

An informal complaint was made in 2008, but Olivia didn't pursue it further as she felt she wouldn't be believed.

The incident was raised again with BBC News managers in 2019 when an employee flagged Olivia's story to their line manager.

Johnston's review found the information wasn't acted upon and noted the incident was often "joked about" in the LA bureau.

Johnston has apologised to Olivia, who was "disappointed that no one came back to her in a satisfactory way."

Despite these complaints, Brand continued to appear on BBC programmes after 2019.

He featured on the Joe Wicks Podcast, which was later removed from the corporation's streaming services following allegations made in 2023.

The BBC has now apologised for its handling of complaints about Brand's behaviour, stating: "It is of great concern that some of these individuals felt unable to raise concerns about Russell Brand's behaviour at the time."

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The broadcaster has declined to comment specifically on why Brand continued to appear on its airwaves despite the non-historical complaints about his conduct.

Johnston's review found that BBC employees felt Brand was "untouchable" and feared nothing would be done if they complained.

The revelations came after a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches in September 2023, which reported four women had accused Brand of sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013.

Brand, who declined to cooperate with Johnston's review, has denied all allegations, stating his relationships were "absolutely always consensual".

He is currently the subject of an ongoing police investigation.