Georgina Baillie says she felt ‘like most hated person in Britain’ after Russell Brand prank on Andrew Sachs - The Independent

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Georgina Baillie has said she was “made into a villain” in the wake of the BBC Radio 2 row involving Russell Brand and her actor grandfather.

Baillie, the daughter of Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs, had a consensual and casual relationship with the comedian, who has now been sentenced to over 10 years in prison for rape and sexual assault, over the course of a year after they met in 2006.

She found herself at the centre of controversy in 2008 when Brand and fellow comedian Jonathan Ross made a prank call to Sachs and left lewd voicemails about Baillie on his answering machine.

On BBC Radio 2, Brand and Ross told Sachs that he had “f***ed” his granddaughter, who was 23 years old at the time.

The “Sachsgate” scandal, as it was dubbed by the press, sparked huge criticism from the public as well as politicians, including the then-prime minister Gordon Brown. Brand resigned with Ross suspended for three months, and the BBC was fined £150,000 by Ofcom.

Speaking in a new Netflix documentary about Brand, nearly 10 years on from the incident, Baillie, now 41, reflected on how she was treated and seen as a result of the BBC prank call row.

“I really felt like I was the most hated person in Britain,” she said. “And I just couldn’t understand why do these adults, these grown-ups, why do they all hate me?”

Baille continued: “They cast me in a role of press whore slut. I was made into a villain.”

She went on to compare her harsh treatment to that of Ross and Brand, who appeared to avoid any severe repercussions.

“Jonathan Ross got suspended for six weeks. Quick slap on the wrist and back to work. Russell – Oh, Russell did it again! How naughty,” said Baillie.

She recalled seeing Brand go so far as to use the scandal to promote himself. “I was just trying to put the bits of my life back together and I see this massive billboard, and it’s Russell’s face and it says, ‘Scandalous,”” she said. “Oh my God. He’s using what happened to me and my family as material. Like, how f***ing dare you?”

Despite her evident anger at Brand over the past incident, Baillie wrote a glowing character reference for her ex-partner, which had been presented to the judge at his hearing on Monday (9 November). In it, she called him an “unabashed womaniser” who was “always lovely”.

“Russell never behaved aggressively, coercively or without regard to my wishes,” she wrote. “In my experience, he was someone who understood and respected boundaries.”

Referencing the Sachsgate scandal, she said: “I have perhaps just as good a reason as anyone not to support Russell, but I still choose to support him because of the person I know him to be.”

Elsewhere in the documentary, Baillie recalled how she and Brand began their relationship, which she has said amounted to 12 “casual sexual encounters” over the course of a year.

“I was extremely promiscuous and it was so much fun. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, he’s so fit.’ I liked guys who wore eyeliner. The big hair. The tabloid energy and his energy were just a perfect match,” she said. “He was surrounding himself with exciting women – Amy Winhouse, Kate Moss – and he was a hero.”

Baillie said that she “begged” a friend for his number and sent him a text asking if he wanted to meet for sex. “Before I knew it, I was out in Camden, I get a text back and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, he’s texted me back!’ He’s like, ‘You wanna come round?’ I’m like, ‘F***, yes!’” she said.

“He answered the door in his pants and then I just went in and it was very matter-of-fact, this is what we’re doing. And then that happened again and again.”

Baillie went on to explain that she was not under any “delusions” as to the nature of their relationship. “I knew I definitely wasn’t the only girl he was seeing,” she said. “We were on a conveyor belt, being swiftly replaced by the next girl an hour later. She was walking up the drive, and he said, ‘Stay. You’ll like her.’ And I was like, ‘I think I better go.’”

Russell Brand: Open Secret was released on Netflix on Friday 13 November in the wake of his conviction.

The release follows only days after the streamer was met with backlash over its choice to keep Brand’s 2018 stand-up special on its platform despite the comedian’s guilty verdicts.

On Thursday 5 November, Brand was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four victims between 2004 and 2009. He was sentenced to 10 year sand six months in prison on Monday 9 November.

He is expected to serve two-thirds of his prison sentence before being released on licence, and will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

The judge said Brand’s celebrity status had protected him until a 2023 exposé by Channel 4’s Dispatches, The Times and The Sunday Times “empowered” other women to come forward.

The Metropolitan Police is also investigating Brand over two more alleged rapes, including against a 16-year-old schoolgirl, and charging files are being considered by the Crown Prosecution Service.

“If you come forward, you will be listened to, supported and treated with care and compassion,” Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said.