This week, Jacki and Lyle delve into yet another scandal which has rocked the media and broadcasting world. In recent weeks, comedian, TV presenter, movie star and self-professed wellness influencer Russell Brand has been accused of sexual assault. Four women allege that Brand assaulted them between 2006 and 2013, a period where he was considered to be at the height of his fame. This was while he was a presenter for Channel 4's spin-off Big Brother programme, Big Brother's Big Mouth, produced by Endemol, before landing a prime slot as host of a BBC Radio 2 show alongside Jonathan Ross, and later appearing in several Hollywood films. These four women spoke to journalists from the Sunday Times, the Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, who were working jointly on the investigation. Journalists working for these outlets also spoke to people who worked alongside Brand during his media career and who detailed their experiences of his attitudes towards women more generally. In this episode, Jacki and Lyle look at this situation from a slightly different angle. They focus on the due diligence businesses undertake before hiring their employees, and what more could have been done by these major broadcasters and film studios in terms of their own due diligence before hiring Brand. Jacki discusses her own experiences in this area, as well as the difficulty when it comes to adequate reference checks, and Lyle asks whether some businesses may now look to undertake retrospective due diligence in an effort to be as squeaky clean as possible moving forward.

You can watch Channel 4's Dispatches programme - Russell Brand: In Plain Sight - here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/russell-brand-in-plain-sight-dispatches

Artwork by Daff Kjellström

Music by Lyle Fulton

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