Russell Brand allegedly told a friend he “may have gone a bit too far” with a woman, a court heard on the first day of his trial.
The comedian, 51, denies three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault relating to six women in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The trial started at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, with the prosecution opening its case to a jury of eight men and four women.
The former Big Brother’s Big Mouth presenter is alleged to have been a “ruthless, calculating and manipulative” sexual predator by the prosecution, and was said to have told friends he wanted to “bed 5,000 women in his lifetime”, the court heard.
The jurors were selected on Tuesday, when Mr Justice Bennathan warned them to ignore past reporting on the celebrity.
Brand, who lives in Florida, became one of Britain’s best-known comedians in the 2000s and won presenting roles including the 2007 Brit Awards, Comic Relief and the MTV Music Video Awards, and hosted his own show on BBC Radio 2.
The trial is scheduled to last six to eight weeks.
Key points
- Brand allegedly admitted 'I may have gone a bit too far'
- Comedian 'told friends he wanted to bed 5,000 women'
- Defendant was a 'ruthless' sexual predator, prosecution alleges
- Brand's wife accompanies him to court
- Celebrity makes statement outside court
- Russell Brand denies sex offence charges
Court adjourned for the day
16:10 , Sian ElvinMark Pinheiro concluded his evidence shortly after 4pm.
Jurors were sent home for the day, with the trial set to resume at 10am on Thursday.
Reliability of witness questioned
15:36 , Sian ElvinMark Pinheiro came forward to police on April 6 2025, two days after the rape allegation against Russell Brand during the party conference in Bournemouth was first publicised.
Asked by Brand’s counsel, Ian Winter KC, why he did not ask the Metropolitan Police for the date of the alleged offence, Mr Pinheiro said: “For me there would only have been one night where it could have occurred.
“It was the night where Russell didn’t return home.”
Under questioning about the reliability of his account, Mr Pinheiro told jurors: “I haven’t alleged Russell did anything.
“I have merely described Russell’s behaviour and what words are ascribed to him, and his behaviour the morning after the night we didn’t see him.
“All I have volunteered is information; I haven’t accused Russell of rape.”
He told the jury he can specifically remember Russell Brand saying “things may have gone a little bit too far” a couple of months after their Bournemouth trip.
“I most definitely recall the words,” he said, when questioned about his memory of the conversation.
He said he cannot be sure if Brand said “things got heated” or “things got out of hand”, but he insisted: “Definitely that’s the gist of what was said.”
Brand watching intently as friend gives evidence for prosecution
15:30 , Amy-Clare MartinRussell Brand is watching intently as his friend and former flatmate gives evidence for the prosecution.
The comedian, wearing a dark pinstriped suit, is sitting motionless in the dock of courtroom three at Southwark Crown Court.
His wife, Laura Gallacher, is in the public gallery next to Brand’s bodyguard and supporters as the prosecution’s case against her husband continues.
Friend says he spoke about Brand 'factually'
15:23 , Sian ElvinMark Pinheiro said he has spoken out about Russell Brand “factually”, suggesting he had also told The Times reporter about “pleasant memories” of his friend.
“Because of the nature of the conversation, and the questions I would have been asked were about his sexual behaviour and the worst cases I would have witnessed, that would have been the nature of the kind of answers I gave,” he said.
“If the behaviour was unpleasant, the result would have sounded like an unpleasant comment.
“I didn’t go out of my way to say specifically unpleasant things.”
He told the court he deliberately did not tell the reporter about the alleged incident in Bournemouth because their questions were “general about my relationship with Russell”.
Challenged by defence barrister Mr Winter that he had made “specific” allegations about Brand, Mr Pinheiro said he was being as “truthful as I possibly could”.
He added: “I have always remembered the situation that happened in Bournemouth.”
Mr Pinheiro said the alleged incident in the south coast town was “pivotal” in how his relationship with Brand formed.
All the allegations against Russell Brand from day one
15:20 , Sian Elvin
All the allegations against Russell Brand from day one of trial
Cross-examination begins
15:19 , Sian ElvinIn his cross-examination of Mark Pinheiro, Russell Brand’s barrister Ian Winter KC probed the witness on whether he had “on many occasions” described the comedian as a friend.
Mr Pinheiro responded: “I wouldn’t say so, I wouldn’t say there are many occasions on social media at all.
“One of the things we talked about with Russell was he didn’t want private material making its way on social media outside of his professional persona.”
He also said the events of 1999 were “quite memorable”, adding: “That was quite a big event that occurred, and not something you easily forget.”
He told the court he spoke to The Sunday Times about Russell Brand in September 2023 for just under an hour, but did not talk about the alleged incident in Bournemouth.
“I don’t think that was the interest, and I was also quite careful about what things I did speak to the press about,” he explained.
“They were talking more generally about the relationship with him, without specifically talking about these particular events.”
Brand would 'pick girls out of the queue', former friend says
15:10 , Sian ElvinMark Pinheiro recalled being invited to a preview of Russell Brand’s show Messiah Complex in 2013, and seeing women lined up against a wall in the theatre.
“Russell would be networking, schmoozing, talking with various people backstage”, he said.
“There would be a moment he would break away from the networking, walk along the queue of girls, and ask a girl to come out and join him.
“The girl would join him and go off to a quiet area of the theatre, usually the toilet, and we wouldn’t see them for about 10 minutes.
“When he returned, he returned back to the schmoozing, time passed, and he returned to the queue, walked along the queue, picked another girl from the queue and repeat the same thing, go off to somewhere quiet.”
Friend alleges Brand admitted 'I may have gone a bit too far'
14:54 , Sian ElvinBrand allegedly told his friend he had been with a girl the night before they left Bournemouth, and added: “I think I may have gone a bit too far.”
Mr Pinheiro told the court: “I had Russell finally say he did meet a girl on the Friday night he did… have sex.
“He said that things got a little bit heated and a little bit out of hand, and he thinks that maybe he did go a little bit too far.
“Those were his words – ‘I think I may have gone a bit too far’.”
Brand ‘cowered’ from police sirens in car after Labour conference, friend says
14:49 , Amy-Clare MartinMr Pinheiro told the court Mr Brand told them they needed to leave immediately and started throwing their coats at them.
“Russell’s anxiety to get out of Bournemouth was clearly evident in the car,” he said.
“Russell was sat [sic] in the back and was cowering in the back seat and incredibly alert and incredibly afraid and when a police siren passed the car, Russell would cower down behind the bottom window so he couldn’t be seen.”
Defendant allegedly 'berated friends for not being manly'
14:42 , Sian ElvinMark Pinheiro said the topic of conversation during the drive down to Bournemouth tended to be “whether we all went out to meet girls”.
He told jurors: “When we said we weren’t interested, we generally got teased and berated for not being as manly as he was.”
Russell Brand watched the witness intently from the dock as Mr Pinheiro answered the prosecutor’s questions.
After their cabaret performance, Brand declared that he was “going to go and get laid” when their final show ended in a small fire, Mr Pinheiro added.
“We didn’t see Russell until the following morning,” he said.
“We all wondered where he was because he hadn’t returned home.
“Close to midday, we got a knock on the door and Russell just arrived back home. We asked him where he was, what happened overnight and he was clearly ruffled, discombobulated; his manner was all over the place – really flustered.”
Brand had 'memorable' techniques for sleeping with women
14:37 , Sian ElvinMark Pinheiro told the court Russell Brand had some “memorable” techniques for sleeping with women.
“One would have been: ‘all you need to do is tell the woman what they need to hear and that’s all you really need to do to get a successful pull’,” he said.
Questioned on what was classed as “successful”, Mr Pinheiro told the court: “To be able to sleep with the person.”
He added that Brand’s aim was to “never leave a situation without having some kind of conquest, always trying to score in every endeavour”.
He said he and Brand spent a “quarter” of the time talking about girls on the way to Bournemouth.
He told the court: “A quarter of the time, at least 30 minutes on the subject.
“It’s a subject we would keep on returning to… because it was his topic of interest.”
Court resumes for the afternoon
14:33 , Sian ElvinThe trial has resumed after lunch and the court is now hearing from a former friend.
Russell Brand “boasted” on the journey to the 1999 Labour Party conference that he wanted to sleep with 5,000 women, Mark Pinheiro said.
Mr Pinheiro said he and Brand were performing in a cabaret show together at the conference fringe, and as they travelled they talked in the back of the car about “meeting girls, pulling girls, picking up girls”.
“He hoped that one day he would have been able to have slept with over 5,000 girls, that was his target,” he said.
“He began boasting about certain strategies he would employ in his endeavour to meet women and pull women.”
What the court has heard so far from the prosecution
13:30 , Sian Elvin• Russell Brand was a “ruthless, calculating and manipulative” sexual predator, it was alleged
• “Women and sex were a goal and an obsession,” a friend claimed
• He allegedly told friends he “wanted to bed 5,000 women in his lifetime”
• Brand was accused of “acting like nothing happened” after alleged assault
• He also allegedly told a woman “not to be a spoil sport”
Court has taken break for lunch
12:52 , Sian ElvinAfter the prosecutor concluded her opening, the court broke for lunch until 2pm.
Prosecutor concludes opening remarks
12:47 , Sian ElvinConcluding her opening, the prosecutor told jurors: “Six women, separate women with different allegations, they don’t know each other and when you hear them I have no doubt you will find their evidence compelling.”
Brand was 'unhappy' and requested a massage from his final alleged victim
12:36 , Amy-Clare MartinThe final alleged victim, a Channel 4 worker, accuses Brand of sexual assault as he was filming for a project in 2009.
Ms Karmy-Jones said while he was filming, he was “friendly and nice” with children who were present, but became “angry, fed up, and petulant” when they left.
She said the woman was informed Brand was “unhappy” and the situation would not improve unless she gave him a massage.
The prosecutor said: “She thought they must be joking but then realised they meant it.
“She said no, and they said she had to.”
Ms Karmy-Jones told jurors Brand walked up to a chair the woman was sitting on and placed his head directly into her groin area.
Women 'meant nothing to him in the end', prosecution alleges
12:31 , Sian ElvinAfter outlining the allegations made by the woman who met Brand at the Hammersmith Apollo, Ms Karmy-Jones said the women he came across “meant nothing to him in the end”.
She told jurors: “That offence was in early 2009. Later that same year, Mr Brand continued to act in the same vein.
“He had the mindset, you may think, of someone who would use his best endeavours – whether that be telling women what they wanted to hear, whether it be by using his celebrity status or simply force – to get what he wanted regardless of the views or protestations of the women involved.
“The women that he was coming across meant nothing to him in the end.”
Woman 'blamed herself for what happened'
12:26 , Sian ElvinThe court heard the alleged victim “blamed herself” and “hated herself for what had happened”.
Ms Karmy-Jones told jurors: “She was encouraged to do something about it, but she felt anxious and unwell.
“She blamed herself for what happened, and she didn’t want to become known and defined by what Mr Brand had done to her.
“In her words, she hated herself for what had happened.
“She spent months and years blaming herself for what had happened, and became extremely anxious and continued to be unwell as a result.”
Brand told alleged victim to take a shower, court hears
12:17 , Amy-Clare MartinMs Karmy-Jones said: “She was in a relationship… so, justifying it to herself at the time as ‘not being quite so bad’, foolishly perhaps, she did agree to perform oral sex on him.”
The prosecutor said the woman felt “regret” and that Brand told her “we are all free beings, we all want to give love”.
Afterwards, Brand asked her for her phone number, and she did despite feeling “awful”, “ashamed of herself” and “kind of disgusted”.
On another day, she was collected by a driver and taken to Mr Brand’s address, the court heard.
The prosecutor said that she went to his bedroom with him but was told by Brand “your hair smells funny”.
He told her to have a shower, and despite “feeling uncomfortable” she did, as the request “made her feel grubby and dirty”.
“The defendant stood outside the glass shower cubicle and watched her, she felt as if he was administering her and how she was taking a shower,” Ms Karmy-Jones added.
She said she had consensual vaginal intercourse with Brand, but alleged he then removed the condom and anally raped her.
'My age range is 16 to death,' Brand allegedly said
12:05 , Amy-Clare MartinThe fifth complainant “admired and fancied” Brand, who was by then a rising comedy star, when she went to see him perform in 2009, Ms Karmy-Jones said.
He allegedly told the audience that if any of them fancy him “you probably can have sex with me. My age range is from 16 to death”.
As she was leaving through the venue foyer, Brand pointed at her and said “you” before she was invited to have drinks at the backstage bar, the court heard.
Later, the woman had a consensual threesome with Mr Brand in his dressing room.
“Mr Brand was someone she greatly admired and fancied – she was star-struck,” Ms Karmy-Jones said.
Court has now paused for a short break
11:46 , Sian ElvinThe court paused for a short break after outlining the sexual assault allegations made by the fourth complainant.
Fourth alleged victim 'pushed Brand away and told him to f**k off'
11:35 , Amy-Clare MartinSpeaking of the fourth complainant, the prosecutor added: “While this was happening, she looked to the woman that he was with, hoping she would intervene but neither the men or the woman did anything.
“She finally managed to push him away, saying words to him to the effect of ‘f**k off’.
“Mr Brand stumbled backwards at that final push and just sniggered – like it was a joke.”
The prosecutor told jurors that the women in the case “meant nothing to him”.
She added: “Perhaps he found their protestations amusing, funny? Funny as a display for his friends.
“The other men who were with him also joined in the laughter.”
She said the fourth complainant was left feeling “dirty and disgusting”, adding: “She was shocked at what had just happened – she was in complete disbelief that not one of the people with Mr Brand had tried to help her or to stop it.”
Fourth alleged assault was 'rough, fast and frenzied', court told
11:32 , Sian ElvinMs Karmy-Jones then took jurors to the fourth alleged victim, who was in her 20s and working at a radio station in 2004 or 2005 when Brand allegedly sexually assaulted her after she had left a room while at work.
The prosecutor said: “(Brand) was with a woman and some men at the time. She had not met him previously, but she knew who he was, as his star was ascending, and he was becoming increasingly well known at this time, not least from being on a spin-off television show from Big Brother.”
When the woman left the room, Brand is said to have “instantly grabbed her by the face with both hands” and allegedly “pushed her up against a wall, where he kissed her ‘sloppily and aggressively’.”
“It was rough, fast and frenzied,” she added.
Defendant was 'rude and dismissive'
11:29 , Sian ElvinBrand allegedly “looked straight through” the man who asked “are you OK” to the woman who accuses the celebrity of rape in Soho.
Ms Karmy-Jones said: “Mr Brand looked straight through him with a blank expression and carried on walking past after he said hello.
She added: “Mr Brand was quite rude and dismissive, just saying ‘contact my agent we should catch up’ and continued walking away.”
Brand told alleged victim 'not to be a spoil sport'
11:26 , Sian ElvinBrand’s third alleged victim “found herself at the bar talking to him about Big Brother” before he “lunged” forward and grabbed her breasts during an incident in Soho in July 2004.
Ms Karmy-Jones told the court: “She was shocked and remembers that he had a ‘big, weird grin’ on his face as he did so. Mr Brand then grabbed her arm and held her quite strongly and pulled her into the lavatory, the toilets, which were close to the bar, just behind and to the side of where Mr Brand was standing.”
Before the alleged oral rape, the woman said, “What are you doing – I don’t want to do this”, the court heard.
Ms Karmy-Jones told jurors: “He just said ‘Oh come on don’t be a spoil sport, you want to’ or something along those lines.”
Brand continued to look in the prosecutor’s direction and listened intently to her opening.
The alleged victim “froze and didn’t know what to do”, the court heard.
Ms Karmy-Jones told jurors that after Brand let her go, “(The alleged victim) went and started banging on the door – her hands were shaking and she couldn’t get the lock open, and she remembers a man’s voice on the other side of the door saying ‘are you OK?’
“Mr Brand just left.”
Next alleged victim was 'not so lucky', prosecution alleges
11:14 , Sian ElvinMs Karmy-Jones said Brand’s next alleged victim was “not so lucky” when he allegedly grabbed her and pulled her into the toilets.
She told jurors: “There can be little doubt as to what Mr Brand’s intention was in assaulting [the alleged victim], a woman he had just met, by trying to drag her into the toilets with him.
“Three years after this incident with [the alleged victim], Mr Brand pulled another woman into a toilet. There is no issue that Mr Brand did at times use toilet cubicles as places to have consensual sex – he admitted that in one of his interviews.”
The prosecutor said the woman was “not so lucky as to be able to pull away”.
First court sketches of Brand
11:11 , Sian Elvin
Brand had 'desperate wild-eyed look on his face', court hears
11:07 , Amy-Clare MartinThe prosecutor told jurors the second alleged victim recalled how Brand had a “desperate wild-eyed look on his face” as he beckoned her into the toilets.
Ms Karmy-Jones said: “She continued to resist saying ‘I’m not coming in there, don’t be silly, are you mad – get off’, and she managed to pull herself away, and to release his grasp.
“At that point he gave up and went into the toilet, and she left the area.”
The MTV worker felt “bewildered and shocked” by the alleged assault by Brand, the court heard.
Ms Karmy-Jones told jurors: “Although she felt bewildered and shocked by what had happened, at that time she didn’t think it was something to take further, she wasn’t even sure if it was an offence.
“It was a short incident, and she never saw Russell Brand there again.”
Second alleged victim 'pulled towards toilets by Brand'
11:04 , Sian ElvinMs Karmy-Jones then took jurors onto the second alleged victim, who worked at MTV at the time of the alleged incident in 2001.
The prosecutor said the woman had made a remark about his “I am Spartacus” T-shirt before she offered to show him where the toilets were.
She told the court: “When they reached the toilets, she pointed them out to Mr Brand, saying ‘there you go’ – at which point he said to her ‘Come in, go on, come in’ and grabbed her hard by her forearm.
“As he gripped her arm, he was leaning on the door of the male toilet, pushing it partially open as he pulled her towards it.
“She resisted, by struggling and pulling back.”
Alleged victim 'left in shock' after encounter with Brand
11:01 , Sian ElvinThe prosecutor added: “Once he finished he behaved as if nothing had happened – he got up, he got dressed, wrote his email address down and showered her with compliments, apologising for how quick things had been and saying he had to get back to his mum’s, who he said would love to meet her, and quickly left.”
Ms Karmy-Jones said after the alleged rape, the complainant was “left in shock”, “crying” and feeling “ashamed”, “dirty” and “stupid”.
She added: “Throughout she felt it was her fault, she almost chastised herself for inviting him back to her room.”
Woman remembers ‘weight’ of Brand ‘on top of her’ after he pushed her on bed, jury told
10:58 , Amy-Clare MartinThe first alleged victim assumed Mr Brand was gay after he struck up a conversation with her at an event at the political conference in Bournemouth, the court heard.
She agreed to continue their conversation at her hotel, but found him partially undressed “prancing around the room – a bit like an ostrich, doing silly walks like Basil Fawlty” after she went to the toilet, Ms Karmy-Jones said.
The woman recalled the “weight of him on top of her” as he pushed her on the bed and grabbed her breasts, she said, adding: “He was trying to kiss her, he was putting his fingers in her mouth and doing things with his tongue that were horrible – like a lizard.”
After the alleged rape, without a condom, he told her not to worry because he is regularly tested for STDs, the prosecutor said.
Defendant said things 'might have got a little out of hand'
10:49 , Sian ElvinBrand appeared to still be engaged with the prosecutor’s opening as she continued to outline the allegations made by the first alleged victim.
Ms Karmy-Jones said although he and Mark Pinheiro had an argument, Brand was allowed to stay with him when he became homeless for a period of time.
She told the court: “During that time, the defendant eventually admitted that it was not, as was suspected, an audition that had caused him to depart Bournemouth so swiftly.
“He told Mr Pinheiro that the night before they made their hasty departure, he had had sex with a woman in Bournemouth and that things ‘might have got a little out of hand’.”
Brand said he had to 'leave town immediately'
10:48 , Sian ElvinThe prosecutor said Brand burst into a flat the morning after the alleged rape in Bournemouth and told the group he was with to “pack up their stuff” and that they “had to leave town immediately”.
Ms Karmy-Jones said: “Once in the car, the defendant behaved oddly, shrinking down in the back seat to hide his head beneath the window.
“When pressed about where he had been the night before, and why they had to leave so abruptly, he said he had forgotten he had an audition.”
Accused was 'desperate to have sex'
10:47 , Sian ElvinMs Karmy-Jones said Mark Pinheiro recalls that Brand was “desperate” to have sex before they left the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.
The prosecutor said: “As you will hear, the defendant did achieve his objective.
“He found a victim, engaged with her, told her ‘exactly what she needed to hear’, and then manipulated the situation so as to have sex with her.”
Brand 'told friends he wanted to bed 5,000 women'
10:42 , Amy-Clare MartinThe celebrity bragged to friends that he was a ladies' man who wanted to bed 5,000 women in his lifetime on the way to a Labour Party conference where he is accused of raping a woman, the court heard.
He allegedly told them “all you have to do is tell them what they need to hear”, Ms Karmy-Jones said.
She told the jury that he raped a “naive and inexperienced” woman in a hotel room at the event in Bournemouth in 1999.
Friends said the morning after the alleged attack he told them they needed to leave in a hurry and disclosed at a later date that he had sex with a woman and things “might have got a little out of hand”, but later changed his story, the court heard.
Prosecution outlines first allegation
10:41 , Sian ElvinMs Karmy-Jones first took the jurors through the first allegation against Brand, in which he is alleged to have raped a woman in a hotel room during a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1999.
She told the court about a witness named Mark Pinheiro whom she said “remembers that in the car on the way to Bournemouth Mr Brand was ‘bragging’ that he was ‘a ladies’ man’, a womaniser and an expert pick-up artist.”
TV programme 'played its part' in alleged victims coming forward
10:37 , Sian ElvinThe prosecutor went on: “The reason the trial is taking place in 2026 is because the women in this case, each for their own different reasons, did not take matters to the police at the time.
“They chose to live with what had happened to them – until something happened in 2023, which made them all individually, quite separately and for different reasons feel that they had to come forward, that they must.
“That thing that happened was that a TV programme was broadcast and some press that occurred after it was broadcast, in which anonymous allegations about the defendant were made.
“Those are allegations that he has denied and this trial is not about those allegations.”
Ms Karmy-Jones KC said the TV programme “played its part” in causing the complainants in this case to come forward.
She went on: “In due course, you will hear from them and they will tell you their reasons for coming forward when they did, reasons that are individual and different to each complainant and reasons that you will of course consider carefully.
“It’s important because there is no typical response to rape or sexual assault, there is no typical method of reporting and there is no typical time frame to this kind of reaction, the reaction to this kind of offending.
“In the same way that there is no typical victim. This case is a typical example of that.”
Brand 'told alleged victim not to be a spoil sport'
10:34 , Sian ElvinMs Karmy-Jones told the court Brand told one alleged victim to not be a “spoil sport” as he allegedly raped her.
She told the court: “She questioned what he was doing and told him that she ‘didn’t want to do this,’ he said to her, ‘Oh come on, come on, don’t be a spoil sport’.”
He had an 'insatiable desire', court told
10:33 , Sian ElvinBrand continued to listen intently to the prosecutor’s opening as she said his “insatiable desire to get what he wanted with whomever he wanted it with” was “uppermost in his mind”.
Ms Karmy-Jones KC said: “He cared not who the woman was, what state she was left in or how he had left her feeling.
“Uppermost in his mind was his insatiable desire to get what he wanted with whomever he wanted it with.”
Brand accused of 'acting like nothing happened'
10:32 , Sian ElvinThe prosecutor said Brand would “act as if nothing wrong had happened” after the alleged incidents.
She told the court: “After the event, he would appear indifferent, normal and untroubled by what had just occurred, sometimes leaving promptly after the incident, sometimes making an excuse to get away or sometimes simply continuing as though nothing wrong had happened.”
Prosecutor opens case
10:30 , Sian ElvinBrand looked at the prosecutor with a tilted head as she continued her opening of the case.
Ms Karmy-Jones said he would “tell women what they wanted to hear”.
She told jurors: “Sometimes he might even have made sexual advances within minutes of meeting them, but every time he had identified his target, identified someone young and impressionable, he was intent on trying to fulfil his sexual desire.”
‘Women and sex were a goal and an obsession’, friend claims
10:24 , Amy-Clare MartinThe jury were told that a friend of Mr Brand described him as “rampant” in his desire for sex.
A second friend said “women and sex were a goal and an obsession”, Ms Karmy-Jones told the court.
Brand was a 'ruthless' sexual predator, prosecution alleges
10:23 , Amy-Clare MartinRussell Brand was a “ruthless” sexual predator who targeted six women over a ten-year period as his career started to flourish, the jury has been told.
Opening the case against Brand, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC said: “His desire, strong desire, for some form of sexual contact was indiscriminate and voracious.
“He could be nice when he wanted to be, funny – undoubtedly - charming, likeable even - when he wanted something in return – but then demanding, entitled, a flirt with a huge sexual appetite, - child like in his expectation that his every desireshould be met.
“He was ruthless, he was calculating and he was manipulative, and the prosecution say he was a sexual predator.”
Crowd of press gather outside court
09:55 , Sian ElvinA crowd of members of the press were gathered outside Southwark Crown Court hours before Russell Brand’s trial was due to start.
Photographers, video journalists and news presenters could be seen in position at around 7.30am, while a line of reporters waited to get into the court building.
Members of court security were also outside the building, along with a small group of police officers.
One police officer was heard telling members of the press to stay behind barriers which were in place directly outside the building.
Brand's wife accompanies him to court
09:40 , Sian ElvinRussell Brand was driven to the court in a black Mercedes-Benz van, which parked directly outside the building.
Brand waited inside the vehicle for around a minute before stepping out wearing a dark suit, a black and white striped shirt, a long white tie and sunglasses.
The comedian took his wife Laura Gallacher’s hand as she stepped out of the vehicle.
Brand then answered a reporter’s question and thanked her for the “polite way” it was asked.
He and his wife then walked together towards the court building.
Brand makes statement outside court
09:32 , Sian ElvinRussell Brand said he was feeling “concerned” as he arrived at Southwark Crown Court before his trial.
A reporter asked how he was feeling and he replied: “Today I feel blessed, I feel of course, concerned but hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved.
“That’s my prayer.”
Russell Brand arrives at court
09:25 , Sian Elvin
Court queues began at around 7am ahead of packed hearing
09:22 , Amy-Clare MartinThe first journalists began queuing at around 7am outside Southwark Crown Court in central London to get through security and secure their seats in Court 3.
The courtroom is expected to be packed on Wednesday as prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC is due to open the Crown’s case against Brand to the jury of eight women and four men.
Photographers, video journalists and news presenters are waiting at the court steps for the defendant to arrive for the hearing.
Don't research the allegations, judge warns jurors
09:01 , Jane DaltonJurors were all warned by the judge on Monday to ignore past reporting about Russell Brand and the allegations of sexual misconduct he has faced in recent years.
“Don’t carry out any research,” Mr Justice Bennathan told them on Tuesday.
“Heaven knows what’s out there.
“If you want to, you could go and have a look – but only once you have returned your verdicts.”
On Monday, the judge started with 50 prospective jurors, before excusing six.
In the second stage of the selection process, 20 possible jurors were selected and sent away for the night to check they were free to sit on a trial that is expected to last six weeks, but could stretch to nine weeks.
Brand denies rape and sex assault charges over 10 years
09:00 , Jane DaltonRussell Brand, 51, is accused of groping women and forcing them into sexual acts, in allegations which date from 1999 to 2009.
He denies three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault, made by six women.
At previous hearings, it was said Brand is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, grabbing a TV worker’s breasts and forcing her into a sex act in a toilet, and kissing and groping a radio station worker.
The proceedings in court as case opens
09:00 , Jane DaltonA jury of eight men and four women will take their places in a courtroom at Southwark Crown Court today as Russell Brand’s trial begins.
Riel Karmy-Jones KC will be prosecuting for the crown.
A former chair of the Criminal Bar Association, she is expected to set out the full details of the allegations against Brand – three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault.
A reserve juror has been selected to sit through the prosecution opening.
