Ross back on the box
Updated on 08 January 2009
Jonathan Ross's Friday night chat show is set to return as his three-month suspension comes to an end this month, the BBC has confirmed.
Stephen Fry, Lee Evans and Scottish band Franz Ferdinand will feature on the first show of the year.
Ross was suspended in October over his role in the Radio 2 phone calls row involving comedian Russell Brand and Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.
Sachs's agent Meg Poole said he did not wish to make any further comment on the matter, including on any speculation over whether he would or would not appear on Ross's show.
Ross's Radio 2 show will be back on January 24 and Film 2009, also fronted by Ross, returns on January 26.
He was suspended for 12 weeks without pay for his role in making lewd phone calls to Sachs, costing Ross an estimated £1.5 million of his salary.
Ross and fellow DJ Brand left messages on Sachs's answerphone claiming Brand had slept with Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. The pair joked that Sachs might kill himself.
The BBC was deluged with complaints and Brand resigned in the ensuing scandal, as did Radio 2 boss Lesley Douglas.
© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.
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