Jonathan Ross is back on the radio nearly 15 years since the Sachsgate scandal saw him hauled off the air.
The TV star is joining Classic FM as the new host of Saturday Night at the Movies.
He will take on the 7pm to 9pm slot in what is his first radio show since the scandal which threatened to destroy his career.
The presenter faced a public backlash after he appeared on Russell Brand’s show back in 2008 and left lewd messages on Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs’ answerphone.
In the messages comedian Brand also bragged about having sex with Sachs’s granddaughter Georgina Baillie.
The BBC was fined £150,000 by regulator Ofcom for the incident, with Brand resigning and Ross, who hosted a Radio 2 show for 10 years, suspended for three months.
Now he is back on the air and he can't wait to be back in the studio.
He said: “If you love film scores and want to revisit the classics, as well as have me share a few of the more obscure delights from my vast collection, then I hope you’ll make it a date to join me at the movies on Classic FM every Saturday evening.”
Philip Noyce, Classic FM’s managing editor, said: “It is fantastic that Jonathan is joining Classic FM as the new host of Saturday Night at the Movies.
"He is, of course, an acclaimed and popular broadcaster, but it’s his passion and knowledge of a huge array of films, and the music that threads through them, that make him the perfect host every Saturday evening.
“Jonathan is a true fan – and I know our current listeners, and anyone tuning in for the first time, will love joining him to enjoy iconic music alongside his insight into great films and their soundtracks.”
Although there was huge public outcry over the incident. the star says he never considered walking away from the BBC as he believed the issue was “blown out of all proportion”.
He explained: “I didn’t want the people who were going for me and going for Russell to win. That would have been their victory.
“I didn’t want to throw anyone under the bus, but after the recording I actually said. ‘You know you can’t put that out unless we have his [Sachs’s] permission?... that’s why the BBC couldn’t fire me.”
Talking to Dermot O’Leary’s People, Just People podcast last year, Jonathan admitted he rarely tunes into the BBC radio station these days.
He said: “I wish it was a little bit more interesting. A lot of the time it feels like they don’t take risks any more, which they used to.
“Obviously I’m part of the reason they don’t do that any more, because of the huge cock-up of me and Russell on his show.
“It’s one of the reasons they allowed themselves to be beaten back into a position of ‘Oh, don’t take risks, don’t take chances.’
“To an extent I sympathise with that, but at the same time that’s why I don’t listen a lot.”
