We'd take on Brand says Brunel FM boss (From Swindon Advertiser)

We'd take on Brand says Brunel FM boss

8:40pm Tuesday 4th November 2008 in News By Ben Perrin

THE new owners of Brunel FM are inviting comic Russell Brand to take a presenting role on the radio station.

South West Radio Limited has bought the Wootton Bassett outlet from Laser Broadcasting, which was formally placed into administration at the High Court in Leeds last week.

Brunel FM is currently searching for a breakfast presenter and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of attempting to lure the witty motormouth to Swindon.

Brand, 33, resigned from his Radio 2 post after an outcry over the answer phone messages he left for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, 78, saying he had slept with his granddaughter Georgina Baillie.

The prank, with telly star Jonathan Ross, triggered more than 30,000 complaints.

“Russell, give me a call,” said South West Radio director Paul Roberts, who hails from Wales.

“We’ll sit down and discuss the possibilities.”

Brunel FM is hoping to attract more listeners to the station - but despite being under new owners the format will not change. Paul, who has family members living in Swindon, said: “We want the station to relate to the listener.

“It needs to be engaging listening. There has to be on-air personality.

“It shouldn’t be that you are just listening to a DJ, it should be like a chat in a pub or a conversation in a park.

“We have been at the station a week now and the format hasn’t really changed.

“There should be no major internal changes.

“I know Swindon well and we want to make Brunel FM a vital part of the community.

“We are really excited by the prospect of taking Brunel FM on and attracting more listeners as well as making it commercially friendly.”

Insolvency firm Begbies Traynor was called in to sell off the company’s assets, including Laser Broadcasting South West – which owned Brunel FM, Brunel FM, 3TR in Warminster, QuayWest in Bridgwater and QuayWest in Minehead.

The five stations owned by Laser Broadcasting South West were then bought by property developer John Roberts, who is Paul’s dad.

John is also the owner of Exeter-based South West Radio.