LONDON - The BBC's governing body ruled Friday that the broadcaster acted appropriately when it suspended its star disc jockey and accepted the resignation of a fellow performer for leaving lewd messages on an actor's phone about his granddaughter.

The trust that oversees Britain's national broadcaster criticized the BBC for airing a routine by TV personality, Jonathan Ross, and comedian Russell Brand. But it did not call for any further action against Ross, who was suspended without pay for three months.

Brand and the controller of the radio channel on which the routine was broadcast have resigned.

Brand and Ross recorded telephone calls to actor Andrew Sachs, 78, in which the pair claimed Brand had sex with Sachs' granddaughter. In an ad-libbed routine, they joked that Sachs might hang himself as a result of the news.

The calls to Sachs -- best known for playing Spanish waiter Manuel in the 1970s program, "Fawlty Towers" -- drew thousands of complaints. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the comments "inappropriate and unacceptable."

The BBC Trust's chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, said it was a "disappointing and dismal episode."

Lyons said the obscene material should not have been recorded, and that in any case it should have been cut before the program was broadcast.

Ross, who has a three-year contract reportedly worth $29 million US, is known for pushing boundaries.

Brand, whose image is of a quick-witted hedonist, has a growing U.S. profile due to appearances in films and on the MTV Video Music Awards in September, where he offended some viewers by describing President George W. Bush as "that retarded cowboy fellow."

Lyons called for more oversight of "high-risk" programs.

"Putting Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross in the same studio, you could have predicted quite straightforwardly was going to be a risky situation," Lyons said. "This isn't rocket science."

Speaking to reporters outside her home, Sachs' wife, Melody, said he had nothing to say.

"I don't suppose he wants to do anything more about it. We are so tired of all this stuff. Whatever they do, they do, but we are so tired of it all," she said.