Andrew Sachs’ granddaughter responds to Russell Brand sexual assault allegations

19 September, 2023

Georgina Baillie Russell Brand

Andrew Sachs’ granddaughter Georgina Baillie, who had a relationship with Russell Brand in the 2000s, has addressed the sexual assault allegations against the comedian.

In a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches, four women accused Brand of rape and sexual assault over a period between 2006 and 2013. Brand has denied the allegations.

Baillie was at the centre of the “Sachsgate” scandal in 2008 that saw Brand and TV presenter Jonathan Ross leave a series of “lewd” messages on Sachs’ answering machine relating to the comedian’s relationship with his granddaughter. The incident led Brand to resign from the BBC, while Ross was suspended for 12 weeks.

In an appearance on TalkTV’s Piers Morgan Uncensored yesterday (September 18), Baillie said that she was keeping an “open mind” with regards to the allegations.

“I’m not saying they are lies because you know, it was a long time ago,” Baillie said. “We all…I think they should be believed and get some help.”

Asked if she believes there’s any merit to the allegations, she replied: “I, from my own personal experience, do not see Russell as a rapist. However, a lot of the evidence is very compelling, so one has to keep an open mind.”

Speaking about her own relationship with Brand, Baillie said: “He was always very nice to me. It was always clear what the parameters were and that was mutually agreed upon and never did anything untoward happen – apart from that [‘Sachsgate’].

“I was struggling with addiction for about 10-15 years and I was finding it very hard to get clean and sober. So one of my mutual friends between me and Russell called him up and said, ‘Georgie needs some help’, and so he sent me to rehab.

“And so I was physically separated from my drug of choice and I got some therapy and I think that had a big part to play in my recovery journey.”

In a video denying the allegations, Brand said that all of his relationships were consensual.

“Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he said. “These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies, and as I have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.

“Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well. To see that transparency metastasised into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question – is there another agenda at play?”

Channel 4 and the BBC have both opened investigations into Brand. The former has also removed all content featuring the comedian from its streaming service.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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