Opinion: My encounter from hell with Jonathan Ross

By KATIE HIND, CONSULTANT EDITOR SHOWBUSINESS

Published: | Updated:

I thought it was a perfectly fair question. Did Jonathan Ross still think he had a future at the BBC after being pulled off air for leaving lewd messages on actor Andrew Sachs’ answer phone during his Radio 2 show with Russell Brand ? But it prompted him to become very unpleasant indeed. ‘I know the BBC never stopped trusting me,’ he fumed when I met him at a showbiz party in March 2009, just five months after ‘Sachsgate’. It was a scandal that had engulfed not only Ross, who was suspended with no pay for 12 weeks, but the entire BBC, which was fined £150,000 by Ofcom.

I thought it was a perfectly fair question. Did Jonathan Ross still think he had a future at the BBC after being pulled off air for leaving lewd messages on actor Andrew Sachs’ answer phone during his Radio 2 show with Russell Brand ? But it prompted him to become very unpleasant indeed. ‘I know the BBC never stopped trusting me,’ he fumed when I met him at a showbiz party in March 2009, just five months after ‘Sachsgate’. It was a scandal that had engulfed not only Ross, who was suspended with no pay for 12 weeks, but the entire BBC, which was fined £150,000 by Ofcom.

‘I will be having Russell on my show,’ he boasted, seemingly unconcerned by the upset and distress he’d caused the Fawlty Towers actor, who was 79 at the time. He then abruptly ended our conversation before I could ask any further questions. Yet that prank call - in which Ross and Brand made deeply offensive remarks referring to Brand’s relationship with the actor’s granddaughter Georgina Baillie - would undoubtedly change the way the public perceived ‘loveable Wossy’. It was staggering that he didn’t think the BBC might have an issue with him because of it.

‘I will be having Russell on my show,’ he boasted, seemingly unconcerned by the upset and distress he’d caused the Fawlty Towers actor, who was 79 at the time. He then abruptly ended our conversation before I could ask any further questions. Yet that prank call - in which Ross and Brand made deeply offensive remarks referring to Brand’s relationship with the actor’s granddaughter Georgina Baillie - would undoubtedly change the way the public perceived ‘loveable Wossy’. It was staggering that he didn’t think the BBC might have an issue with him because of it.

Towering above me, 6ft 1in Ross was rude and, to my mind, extremely arrogant. Not all that different, in fact, to the petulant egomaniac eight million Traitors fans have been watching for the last three weeks. This week he was finally outed as a Traitor and, as he left the game, referred to his co-stars as ‘idiots’. Though he ran a slick campaign in the castle, often referring to himself as a super-fan of the show, he also butted heads with several other contestants and rubbed more up the wrong way. Both Irish actress Ruth Codd and former rugby star Joe Marler might have smiled with particular satisfaction when his deception was finally uncovered.

Towering above me, 6ft 1in Ross was rude and, to my mind, extremely arrogant. Not all that different, in fact, to the petulant egomaniac eight million Traitors fans have been watching for the last three weeks. This week he was finally outed as a Traitor and, as he left the game, referred to his co-stars as ‘idiots’. Though he ran a slick campaign in the castle, often referring to himself as a super-fan of the show, he also butted heads with several other contestants and rubbed more up the wrong way. Both Irish actress Ruth Codd and former rugby star Joe Marler might have smiled with particular satisfaction when his deception was finally uncovered.

As one insider told me: ‘He couldn’t help but come across as the know it all, the big man.’ It’s a sentiment shared by many in the showbusiness industry who have crossed paths with him during his 40-year career – myself included. For while he might make his fans laugh on the chat show he now hosts on ITV, and throw star-studded Halloween parties, I don’t like him very much. Over the years I’ve had several meetings with Ross, now 64, and his loud, bellowing voice is terrifying. I don’t blame him for sending me away with a flea in my ear on occasion. I once knocked on the door of his home in Hampstead, north London, to ask about some over-the-top gardening renovations, for example.

As one insider told me: ‘He couldn’t help but come across as the know it all, the big man.’ It’s a sentiment shared by many in the showbusiness industry who have crossed paths with him during his 40-year career – myself included. For while he might make his fans laugh on the chat show he now hosts on ITV, and throw star-studded Halloween parties, I don’t like him very much. Over the years I’ve had several meetings with Ross, now 64, and his loud, bellowing voice is terrifying. I don’t blame him for sending me away with a flea in my ear on occasion. I once knocked on the door of his home in Hampstead, north London, to ask about some over-the-top gardening renovations, for example.

But when he took to Twitter in 2010 on a different matter, effectively setting the internet trolls on a campaign against me, I found him not only judgemental but cruel. Back then, the story in question appeared in a former gossip column I wrote for a Sunday tabloid. Crucially, I was on holiday when this story appeared and a more junior colleague was standing in for me. This colleague met Ross and Brand at Sir Richard Branson’s annual pre-Wimbledon party at the Kensington Roof Gardens in London, then published details of the jovial and harmless conversation with Ross in the column, mostly poking fun at himself.

But when he took to Twitter in 2010 on a different matter, effectively setting the internet trolls on a campaign against me, I found him not only judgemental but cruel. Back then, the story in question appeared in a former gossip column I wrote for a Sunday tabloid. Crucially, I was on holiday when this story appeared and a more junior colleague was standing in for me. This colleague met Ross and Brand at Sir Richard Branson’s annual pre-Wimbledon party at the Kensington Roof Gardens in London, then published details of the jovial and harmless conversation with Ross in the column, mostly poking fun at himself.

Only Ross didn’t see the funny side. Instead he took to Twitter to lambast me for apparently fabricating quotes. ‘Sunday People today prints conversation Russell B and I had with a journalist. Not one single word that is quoted is true. Remarkable,’ he raged on the social media platform. Ross had clearly got out of the wrong side of bed that Sunday morning back in June 2010. He then went on to say that he had never met me (which was a lie, since we’d been introduced by his former publicist at that party a year before). He spluttered: ‘We didn’t talk to her at all so there is no real version! The whole encounter was fabricated!!’

Only Ross didn’t see the funny side. Instead he took to Twitter to lambast me for apparently fabricating quotes. ‘Sunday People today prints conversation Russell B and I had with a journalist. Not one single word that is quoted is true. Remarkable,’ he raged on the social media platform. Ross had clearly got out of the wrong side of bed that Sunday morning back in June 2010. He then went on to say that he had never met me (which was a lie, since we’d been introduced by his former publicist at that party a year before). He spluttered: ‘We didn’t talk to her at all so there is no real version! The whole encounter was fabricated!!’

As a result, I was trolled mercilessly on Twitter – now known as X. Tweeters enjoy the downfall of journalists and so Ross claiming I was dishonest, or some kind of charlatan, prompted an outpouring of hate for me. In my job I’m used to it and try to let it go over my head, but that doesn’t change the fact that he behaved in a bullish and unacceptable manner. I decided it was time to hit back. While the story appeared under my picture byline, I wasn’t at work that week, I told him. ‘You didn’t meet me as I was on holiday with my family in Dorset. Not sure why you think I did chat to you the other night,’ I wrote.

As a result, I was trolled mercilessly on Twitter – now known as X. Tweeters enjoy the downfall of journalists and so Ross claiming I was dishonest, or some kind of charlatan, prompted an outpouring of hate for me. In my job I’m used to it and try to let it go over my head, but that doesn’t change the fact that he behaved in a bullish and unacceptable manner. I decided it was time to hit back. While the story appeared under my picture byline, I wasn’t at work that week, I told him. ‘You didn’t meet me as I was on holiday with my family in Dorset. Not sure why you think I did chat to you the other night,’ I wrote.

He did chat to my colleague, of course, and the convention - which Ross surely knew full well – is that stories appearing in a gossip column are sometimes provided by other members of staff, especially when the columnist is on holiday. Ross refused to let it lie for some time, but did eventually accept I was not at fault. However, he still blocked me on Twitter – and to this day I am still blocked. Perhaps his overinflated ego means he expects everyone to automatically bow down to him. In which case the deliciously back-stabbing actions of fellow-traitors Alan Carr and Cat Burns this week must have come as rather a shock.

He did chat to my colleague, of course, and the convention - which Ross surely knew full well – is that stories appearing in a gossip column are sometimes provided by other members of staff, especially when the columnist is on holiday. Ross refused to let it lie for some time, but did eventually accept I was not at fault. However, he still blocked me on Twitter – and to this day I am still blocked. Perhaps his overinflated ego means he expects everyone to automatically bow down to him. In which case the deliciously back-stabbing actions of fellow-traitors Alan Carr and Cat Burns this week must have come as rather a shock.

Ruth CoddLondonITVJoe MarlerRussell Brand