hc4361 - "Wasn't the Ross/Brand disgrace broadcast live?"
No - and thereby lies the real responsibility for the incident.
Ross and Brand were larking about in the studio, behaving badly, no argument there - but what they did was clearly not suitable for broadcast on national radio. The producer(s) of the programme heard it, and broadcast it, so the real responsibility for the furore lies squarely with them.
I worked in local radio and often recorded inserts for a live show, and sometimes, late at night, we would mess around and record pieces that were totally unsuitable for broadcast. But we made very very sure that they never reached the ears of the producer, or that there was any danger of them being broadcast by mistake.
Producers are paid to oversee the content of broadcasts, and in this instance - they failed, and the public faces were hung out to dry.