BBC broadcasts apology for presenters' antics

London: The BBC broadcast an apology on Saturday for lewd phone messages left by two radio presenters on an actor's voicemail.

The publicly funded broadcaster said it apologised unreservedly for the "grossly offensive and unacceptable" prank.

The BBC was forced to defend its editorial standards after comedian Russell Brand and fellow presenter Jonathan Ross left sexually explicit messages on the phone of 78-year old actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter.

The calls were played on Brand's radio show on October 18 and initially drew few complaints.

But media coverage and the posting of the calls on the internet fuelled a furore that saw more than 40,000 people complain. Even Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the prank.

The BBC said that the stunt "was a serious breach of editorial standards, and should never have been recorded or broadcast".