He was at the center of a messy celebrity scene in the 2000s that now seems like a sour Cool Britannia party.

Recent allegations against the comedian and resurfaced air and stage clips remind us of the seedier side of pop and media culture in that decade.

A clip from his Radio 2 show in 2007 was included in Channel 4’s recent Dispatches investigation into the star.

In the interview, Brand offered his “very attractive” assistant to meet Jimmy Savile naked. Lorraine Heggessey, one of the controllers, said she was “amazed” that no action was taken.

“It wasn’t so long ago,” she told 5 Live on Monday. “This was the 2000s, so let’s not think of it as the distant past.

It would not be acceptable to say something like that. I am amazed that it was acceptable at that time. The output I have heard violated all sorts of guidelines.”

Aside from kissing an interviewer on the lips and undoing her bra, Brand also conducted an uncomfortably forward interview with model Caprice Bourret.

Katie Rosseinsky writes in The Independent: “We just didn’t question it. Brand’s mid-Noughties remarks were seen as edgy, but acceptable – they might have elicited nervous laughter, but laughter nonetheless.”