Katherine Ryan has claimed there is a ‘dangerous comic’ working in British showbusiness during an appearance on Desert Island Discs.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 show, the comedian said she had ‘wrestled’ with the decision about whether to work with ‘someone who I believe to be a perpetrator of sexual assault’ or turn down jobs.
Ryan did not specify who she was talking about on Desert Island Discs. It comes weeks after Russell Brand was at the centre of allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denies.
The Canadian-born comic told host Lauren Laverne in a show recorded before the Brand allegations broke that although she believed the person ‘is or was dangerous’, she was willing to appear on a show with him.
The 40-year-old revealed that her ‘compromise’ was to go on the programme with the unnamed comic but ‘let him know under no uncertain terms what I think of him.’
She added that she didn’t notice ‘much of a reaction’ from the comedian in question, but that other comics who were aware of the person’s reputation ‘really liked what I said’.
Ryan has been outspoken on the issue and is alleged to have challenged 48-year-old Brand while they were co-hosting TV comedy show Roast Battle in 2018, making comments about him on camera which were later cut from the broadcast.