The media outlets accused the comedian – now also a social influencer – of rape,sexual assault and abuse over a seven-year period from 2006 to 2013 when Brand was at the height of his fame.
The allegations came from four women who did not know each other. One said Brand assaulted her when she was 16 and still at school.
Brand,who is currently on tour in England,worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008. During the period covered by the allegations,he also worked on Hollywood films and on programs made for Channel 4,including variousBig Brother spin-offs.
Two of the accusers reported that the incidents occurred in Los Angeles, TheTimes said.
“The documentary and associated reports contained serious allegations,spanning a number of years,” the BBC said on Sunday. “Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently looking into the issues raised.”
Banijay UK,the company that owns Endemol,which produced variousBig Brother productions,also said it had launched “an urgent internal investigation” into Brand’s time there in 2004 and 2005.