Young women working in TV are 'still at risk' from predators, but Russell Brand's conviction will leave some men 'feeling frightened today', a broadcasting chief has warned.
Dorothy Byrne, who was head of news and current affairs at Channel 4 for 15 years, said the disparity in power between talent and staff meant someone like Brand could strike again.
Television executives face a reckoning over how the rapist was able to prey on young women in the business for years.
They are accused of turning a blind eye to abuse carried out by Brand, with one production company brushing off his behaviour as 'Russell being Russell'.
Complaints of sexual misconduct against him were swept under the carpet for almost two decades, it is claimed.
Ms Byrne said large media organisations had improved but there were still young women at risk at smaller companies.
She said: 'There is such a disparity in power between the talent who is seen as absolutely key to the success of the programme and a young person who will be on a very short-term contract and fear that if she speaks out she may not be invited back and will be seen as a troublemaker in the industry.'
But she added: 'This Russell Brand case could be a real turning point. I think there will be some men who have behaved badly who will be feeling frightened today.'
Dorothy Byrne, former head of news and current affairs at Channel 4, said young women in television were still at risk from predators
The BBC has repeated its public apology after an internal review examined eight allegations against its former star who worked at the corporation from 2006 to 2008, and said following his conviction 'there can be no place for the abuse of power'.
But it was accused of 'buck-passing' for pointing out Brand had also worked at other broadcasters, such as Channel 4.
The vile comic boasted that his BBC bosses were 'incredibly tolerant' of his sexual behaviour at work and he had openly joked about raping women and children.
He has told how Lesley Douglas, when she was the BBC's controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music in the 2000s, had 'loved me and gave me lots of room, so I took that room'.
Brand claimed this allowed him to use BBC disabled toilets for sex with female 6 Music competition winners. Ms Douglas has denied encouraging or enabling Brand.
Sinead Haysom, an employment lawyer at Arbor Law, said: 'It is telling that the BBC's first response was to point out that Brand "worked for a number of different organisations, of which the BBC was one".
'Its own review later found junior staff felt there was no point complaining about Brand. In my opinion, that initial response sounds like buck-passing.'
Brand also worked for Channel 4, notably presenting a spin-off programme for Big Brother.
He allegedly turned production staff into 'pimps' to identify audience members to be 'lambs to the slaughter' in his bedroom.
It was a Dispatches investigation for Channel 4 in September 2023, alongside The Times and Sunday Times, that led to women coming forward.
In their own probe in 2024, Channel 4 chiefs said one complaint had not been passed up the senior management chain.
The production firm behind Big Brother, Banijay UK, formerly Endemol, also found staff made informal complaints that weren't escalated.
After Brand's conviction, Louisa Compton, Channel 4's director of news, digital and audience trust, said: 'We remain profoundly grateful to every woman who trusted the Channel 4 reporting team.'
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