Comedian Ricky Gervias has said that his pal Jonathan Ross is devastated over the recent answerphone scandal involving him and Russell Brand, but is sure that he will bounce back.

In an interview to mark Comedians Week in The Sun, 47-year-old Ricky says: “It did go too far, yes. Jonathan was devastated. I’ve spoken to him a few times and he knows he was in the wrong.
“The whole thing got blown out of proportion. Obviously what they did was wrong. It wasn’t very funny.

“They made a mistake because they picked on a real person and they left the message on a human being’s answerphone.

“They could have sworn a hundred times and said some other ridiculous things and that would have been OK.

“But it was about a human being. The sex and the baying for blood and all that. It was wrong.

“But they do know that now. Jonathan has apologised. He knew he made a mistake — but he didn’t kill anyone.”

He added: “It’s all about timing. I’m sure he’ll get over it. He’s a strong character.”