Fame coach: 'Brand did well to quit UK'

An entertainment coach has suggested that Russell Brand did the right thing in quitting the UK soon after the 'Manuelgate' scandal in 2008.

Former celebrity agent Paul Duddridge told The Guardian that the comedian was in a better position than Jonathan Ross, the other person involved in the obscene phonecall to actor Andrew Sachs.

Duddrige said of Brand: "In the UK, he did something eminently sensible: he quit. Ross hung around and hung around, and it became more painful. The thing about Brand is that, because of his form in standup, he brings an audience.

"He can sell thousands of tickets a night whether or not he's offended Andrew Sachs. If you can bring 100,000 paying fans to a project, you're launched.

"Once you've got your fiefdom, it doesn't matter if you lose the opinion-formers. If Jonathan Ross had been in the position to say, sod you, I'll go on the road for a year, he would have."

Of Brand's continued Stateside success, he added: "[It's] finding the one note that works. What he does is what George Clooney or Hugh Grant did.

"You find a demeanour or character or side of yourself that's appealing – and then you keep doing it. Versatility kills most careers.

"[He] found this dandy, littered it with a huge flowery lexicon, and it's like selling shortbread. They lap it up. He's every Englishman you ever want - Jack Sparrow, Keith Richards, Kenneth Williams."