Helen Mirren defends Russell Brand over 'Sachsgate' scandal: 'It really made me cross'

Dame Helen Mirren has said that the public furore which engulfed Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross in the wake of the 'Sachsgate' scandal made her "cross".

The duo left a series of crude messages on Andrew Sachs's voicemail in 2009. The subsequent controversy saw Brand quit his BBC Radio show, and Ross suspended for 12 weeks.

"It really made me cross because that's what comedians are for and that's what makes them so valuable to us," Mirren told Radio Times. "Sometimes they step over the line but if they didn't do that they wouldn't be of the value that they are.

"And you know, Russell is the kindest person. He's kind, he's got a great heart and he's incredibly smart. His brain is fast and brilliant and I hate it when they try to pull these people down."



The Oscar winner added: "Being naughty - and it was schoolboy kind of behaviour - is one thing but there came a point where it was, 'OK, can we please move on?'"

Mirren and Brand have worked together on The Tempest and the poorly-received remake of Dudley Moore comedy Arthur. She will appear on Ross's ITV1 chatshow this weekend.

The full interview with Mirren appears in the new issue of Radio Times, out now.

> Ross, Brand bonded over Sachsgate
> Ross desperate to move on from Sachsgate

Watch the first five minutes of Arthur below: