Russell Brand announced tonight he is to resign from his Radio 2 show in the wake of the controversy over calls made to Fawlty Towersactor Andrew Sachs.
His abrupt departure comes as Jonathan Ross, who also took part in the prank, issued a public apology over his “juvenile and thoughtless” remarks.
Brand has presented his Radio 2 show since November 2006 and is thought to be paid more than £200,000 a year by the BBC. Brand said in a statement that he took “complete responsibility” for the incident and that he got “caught up in the moment”.
Earlier, the BBC suspended Brand and Ross as the row over the crude messages they left on the answerphone of Sachs during a radio show escalated today.
The Radio 2 presenters joked on air that Brand had slept with the granddaughter of the Fawlty Towersactor and said he might kill himself after hearing their messages.
In the light of the furore, with more than 18,000 complaints received from the public, BBC Director-General Mark Thompson said he had decided to take action.
"This gross lapse of taste by the performers and the production team has angered licence payers. I am determined that we satisfy them that any lessons will be learnt and appropriate action taken," he said in a statement.
"I have decided that it is not appropriate for either Russell Brand or Jonathan Ross to continue broadcasting on the BBC until I have seen the full report of the actions of all concerned."
Mr Thompson said he wanted to add his own "personal and unreserved apology" to Sachs, his family and to licence fee payers for the "completely unacceptable broadcast".
“BBC audiences accept that, in comedy, performers attempt to push the line of taste. However, this is not a marginal case. It is clear from the views expressed by the public that this broadcast has caused severe offence and I share that view," he added.
This evening Ross issued a public apology over the phone messages: “I am deeply sorry and greatly regret the upset and distress that my juvenile and thoughtless remarks on the Russell Brand show have caused,” he said in statement.
Georgina Baillie, Sachs's 23-year-old granddaughter who was the butt of their jokes, had earlier said she was thrilled to hear that the BBC presenters had been suspended.
"I'm really happy with the investigation. Me and my grandad are both really happy because it could have damaged our reputation permanently," she told the Sun'swebsite. Ms Baillie told the paper she had been a past lover of Brand but said she felt betrayed by him.
Media watchdog Ofcom said it was going to investigate the broadcast and reports said the BBC had received more than 10,000 complaints from members of the public.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also condemned the presenters' actions. "This is clearly inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour, as is now widely recognised," Mr Brown said.
"Ofcom have said they will investigate the matter and it is for the BBC, the BBC Trust and Ofcom to take any appropriate action."
Sachs (78), who played Spanish waiter Manuel in the comedy series Fawlty Towers,said: "I am very glad that people are taking a stand and putting it far more eloquently than I can," he told the Daily Mail. "It seems that things go too far on TV and radio, so I would certainly say that something needs to be done before the world goes to the dogs."
Sachs said he was “not surprised” Ross and Brand had been suspended by the BBC over their prank calls to him, and he confirmed he was not planning to take the matter up with the police. He said the pair had got it “badly wrong” and made a “poor team”, but he was not seeking revenge.
Ross, who also presents a television chat show, has a BBC contract widely reported to be worth £18 million over three years.
It is far from the first scandal to strike the BBC. Its coverage was criticised by the government in 2003 after the broadcaster suggested the case for going to war in Iraq had been "sexed up". An inquiry sided with the government.
Last year it was criticised alongside commercial broadcaster ITV for misleading the public through fake quizzes and competitions.
As satellite and cable channels have grown in Britain, the BBC has sought to keep itself cutting edge and relevant to the youth market, paying large sums of money to keep stars such as Ross from defecting to competitors.
Agencies