Ross's return to BBC watched by 5 million

LONDON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- More than 5 million people tuned in to watch Jonathan Ross's return to TV following his three-month suspension by the BBC, the British network reported.

At its peak, 5.1 million viewers tuned in to watch Ross's interview with U.S. actor Tom Cruise. The last show before his suspension in October, Ross was watched by about 3.74 million people, BBC said.

Ross was suspended by the British network after he and Russell Brand left a series of lewd telephone messages for the actor Andrew Sachs.

He said it was "very nice to be back" as he returned to his Saturday morning Radio 2 show.

"It was nice to be able to go out at the beginning and say sorry to people because I said sorry beforehand, but that message didn't seem to have got out there," he told his radio listeners Friday. "I got the feeling the newspapers hadn't actually heard it, even though some of them printed it, so it was nice to go out there and get the chance to get that off my chest."

The BBC reportedly received 25 complaints on Friday from viewers unhappy at Ross's return to the network, and three messages in support of his return.