As someone who often sees the humour in a situation, I always feel uncomfortable with the caricature of Christians as being humourless. And I admit that I haven't listened to the radio show in question. However, I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with the leader in Tuesday's Times entitled "A Sorry Affair: The Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross prank was just not funny". Of course, if people had laughed that would not have made the episode acceptable.

As of Wednesday morning, the BBC said it had received more than 18,000 complaints about the radio show when Andrew Sachs (most famous for playing Manuel in the BBC TV comedy Fawlty Towers) was called four times by Russell Brand and guest Jonathan Ross on a pre-recorded show broadcast on 18 October. As the BBC News website reports: "Sachs' agent said the Fawlty Towers star was "very upset" after Brand and Ross left lewd messages about the actor's granddaughter on his voicemail."

Wednesday's papers seem full of criticism for the BBC's lack of action, by which they seem to mean that someone (presenters, executives or both) should be sacked. Politicians have criticised the broadcast and those approving it.

Some commentators also point out that it's only really been Sachs himself who has asked that there be an apology to his granddaughter. (If she and Brand have had a sexual relationship it's a good example of the thesis of our forthcoming book entitled 'Just sex: Is it ever just sex?')

It all seems a long time from when radio presenter Kenny Everett was sacked by the BBC in 1970 for commenting that the then Transport Minister's wife had just passed her driving test by "probably slipping the examiner a fiver".

The Cambridge Paper "'Two guys go into the temple. One says to God...' Humour, Scripture, and Christian discourse" by James and Kate Williams (December 2005, Volume 14 no 4) provides a good perspective on humour: "often it is perverted - by sin and the spiritual deadness of mankind. ........Worldly humour is often destructive through thoughtlessness or because the sole purpose is to amuse or shock. The later TV series of Little Britain parades UK vices, often dwelling on horrible and grotesque people behaving in a terrible fashion. The writers are clever but don't know when to stop - superficially colourful but cynical and devastating at heart."

I don't watch or listen to Brand or Ross because their 'humour' and 'banter' is indeed "superficially colourful but cynical and devastating at heart." Perhaps others will now notice that too?

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