Wogan: Ross 'may not return to BBC'

1 November 2008 12:50pm

Disgraced presenter Jonathan Ross may not return to the BBC at all after his three-month ban, fellow broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan has predicted.

Ross has been suspended without pay for his role in making lewd phone calls to Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs and on Friday his career suffered another blow after he stepped down as host of the British Comedy Awards.

Radio 2 breakfast show host Sir Terry said the suspension of Ross - which will cost him £1.5 million in salary - diminished "not just him but also his reputation".

He told the Daily Telegraph: "What the BBC have done to Jonathan by the suspension is terminal. It is very damaging to him and I would not be surprised if he did not come back."

Ross and fellow DJ Russell Brand left messages on Sachs' answerphone claiming Brand had slept with his granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. They were broadcast on Brand's Saturday night Radio 2 show.

Next month's British Comedy Awards, dubbed the comedy "Oscars", would have been Ross's 17th year in the role.

Ross was reported to be pocketing £100,000 for the ceremony.

A spokesman for Ross said of the Awards: "It's a show he very much enjoys being part of but would not want his participation in this year's event to take away from the awards themselves or the many talented winners of the awards."

© The Press Association