A TV executive who worked at a company that hired Russell Brand has described the allegations against the star as “depressing”.
Phil Edgar-Jones was creative director of Remarkable Pictures, part of Endemol UK, and oversaw Big Brother during its Channel 4 years.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “There was never any sense that he’d done anything inappropriate that was brought to our attention certainly.
“We knew he had a reputation for being promiscuous – and everybody knew that at the time – but that’s as far as it went, as far as we knew.”
Mr Edgar-Jones, who is now director of Sky Arts and Entertainment, went on to stress that Remarkable Pictures would “100%” have acted if something was brought to its attention.
Four women made allegations of rape and sexual assault against Brand in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.
Some of the claims date back to when he was presenting the Big Brother spin-off programme Big Brother’s Big Mouth.
The comedian and actor has said he “absolutely refutes” the allegations against him – and claimed he is being attacked by the mainstream media.