Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon has said the Russell Brand allegations show that “terrible behaviour” towards women has been “historically tolerated” in the television industry. Ms Mahon addressed the claims against the former Channel 4 presenter as she opened the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention on Wednesday 20 September. “The allegations made against Russell Brand are horrendous and as a CEO of Channel 4 and as a woman in our industry, I found the behaviours described in Dispatches and The Sunday Times and The Times articles disgusting and saddening,” she said. Brand has strongly denied the rape and sexual assault allegations which span between 2006 and 2013, when he was at the height of his fame while working for the broadcaster, BBC and starring in Hollywood films.