Russell Brand quits his BBC radio show a

Russell Brand quit his BBC radio show after he and fellow performer Jonathan Ross were suspended indefinitely for leaving lewd messages on the voicemail of a 78-year-old actor.

The calls by Brand and Ross to actor Andrew Sachs have drawn more than 18,000 complaints. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the comments "inappropriate and unacceptable."

In the ad-libbed messages, the pair claimed Brand had slept with Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie, and joked that Sachs might hang himself as a result of the news. Baillie, a 23-year-old burlesque performer, acknowledged she had a sexual relationship with Brand but said the calls to her grandfather were "cruel."

Both Brand and Ross apologized.

"I am sorry that I upset Mr. Sachs," Brand, 33, told reporters. Ross, 47, said he was sorry for his "stupid error of judgment."