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Kate Garraway has defended Jonathan Ross during a heated debate on Good Morning Britain about Russell Brand and David Walliams.
The ITV presenter became embroiled in a tense exchange with guest Baroness Ayesha Hazarika while discussing allegations against the two comedians.
Brand was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, November 9, after being convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault following a four-week trial.
Meanwhile, Walliams was named as the man who had tried to secure an injunction preventing media organisations from publishing allegations against him.
Lawyers for Independent Television News and Guardian News and Media told the High Court the allegations involved Walliams allegedly abusing his power and status to contact young women and pursue inappropriate sexual activity. Walliams denies any wrongdoing.
Following the revelations, Jonathan Ross issued a statement saying he had once been friendly with both men but was ‘genuinely unaware of their conduct’.
He also addressed footage from the 2004 Comedy Awards, in which he joked that the event was 15 years old and, like most 15-year-olds, was ‘probably going home with David Walliams’.
Ross said he had not written the joke himself, explaining that it had been submitted by the awards’ scriptwriting team.
He said: ‘I recognise how deeply shocking it is to revisit footage of a joke delivered by me at the Comedy Awards in 2004, in which I make light of the notion of Walliams going home with a 15 year old.’
He added that he believed the punchline referred to Walliams having publicly dated younger women, but admitted it was a ‘tasteless joke’ he would not make today.
Joined by Ayesha and former Conservative MP Nadine Dorries on GMB, Kate and co-host Richard Madeley discussed Walliams’ bestselling children’s books amid reports that some retailers had begun removing them from shelves.
Ayesha then brought up Ross, telling Kate: ‘I know he’s a friend of yours.’
Kate, however, interrupted to explain her position, saying: ‘The thing about Jonathan Ross that I was saying is that he has been very kind to me and a very good friend and I didn’t know him at all during the period you’re referring to.’
She said the joke had been written for Ross to deliver at an awards ceremony, adding that he had wanted to make clear it was not his own material.
As Ayesha attempted to respond, Kate said: ‘Please, I’m just trying to make my point!’
She continued: ‘The point I was trying to make is that it was totally wrong, but actually, the culture at the time meant that a show that was put on TV had scriptwriters use…’
She also added: ‘Jonathan Ross has done nothing wrong in relation to this.’
Richard then stepped in, saying: ‘Legally, we have to emphasise that Jonathan Ross has every right to say, on his own behalf, that he absolutely didn’t know about the behaviour of either of those two men.’
He later added: ‘Excuse me, until we know otherwise, we have to take that at face value. That’s a matter of legality.’