The Russell Brand Show (radio Show)

''The Russell Brand Show'' was a radio show first broadcast in 2006 on BBC Radio 6 Music and later on BBC Radio 2, TalkSport, XFM and finally Radio X in 2017. The show's host was English comedian Russell Brand, who was usually joined by co-host and long-term friend Matt Morgan, as well as the show's poet laureate, Greg "Mr Gee" Sekweyama. The show also featured regular contributions from English musician Noel Gallagher, who was described as an unofficial co-host.

''The Russell Brand Show'' was originally broadcast from 2006 to 2007 on BBC Radio 6 Music on Sundays from 10 am to 1 pm. After gaining popularity, the show moved to BBC Radio 2 in 2007, retitled ''Russell Brand'' and broadcast on Saturdays from 9 pm to 11 pm. In October 2008, Brand resigned from the BBC after a prank call on the show with comedian Jonathan Ross to Andrew Sachs resulted in over 30,000 complaints and a £150,000 fine to the BBC, ending the shows run on the BBC and effectively sending the show into a hiatus. In October 2010, nearly two years since Brand's resignation from the BBC, the renamed ''The Russell Brand Radio Show'' returned for a few weeks on Talksport, featuring Brand, Morgan and Mr Gee.

History

BBC Radio 6 Music

In December 2005, Brand filled in for Nemone with co-presenter Karl Pilkington for three radio shows on BBC Radio 6 Music. In April 2006, Brand was given a regular Sunday-morning 10am to 1pm slot on the station. Pilkington was advertised as being his co-host and appeared with him on the first show, but thereafter Brand's long-term contributor Matt Morgan and comedian Trevor Lock (who left in March 2007 to start his own radio show) filled the role. Brand's 6Music radio show was ranked as high as number 2 in the iTunes most-subscribed-podcast chart.

The BBC Radio 6 Music shows would usually take on a different theme each week. For instance, one week the theme was "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" Lock would tell stories of being caught accidentally drowning a rodent by a vicar, while on the "Lies" themed show Brand would talk about pouring Jif round his bathroom and telling his mother it had come out when trying to urinate. The trio would regularly tease one another about these absurd and hilarious anecdotes. There would be an almost weekly item where Brand would read out a made-up story from the tabloids about his private life. A constant source of fascination and frustration was "Trevor's Sonic Enigma", which was later renamed "Trevor Done A Noise" by Brand and Morgan. This was meant to be a short clip of sound effects and voices (all done by Lock) meant to suggest the title of a song. These enigmas were notable for being misleading and confusing as well as very long, winners were invited to join the presenters in the studio the next week. The other item was "Challenge Trevor" in which Lock was set a list of undesirable challenges by the listeners. These went from eating lemons to serenading Noel Gallagher with an Oasis song in Lock's Elvis Presley voice.

BBC Radio 2

The show was transferred to BBC Radio 2, the UK's most popular radio station, from Saturday 18 November 2006 in the 9pm11pm timeslot. The Radio 2 controller at the time, Lesley Douglas, who was also the controller of 6Music, said "Russell established himself as a genuine radio talent on 6 Music and has done a brilliant job there. Radio 2 gives him a fresh challenge, and a new audience. He proved a hit with Radio 2 listeners when he stood in for Mark Radcliffe earlier this year".

In October 2006, BBC
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