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The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches published their joint investigation on Saturday accusing Russell Brand of rape, sexual assault and abuse. 

Four women alleged Brand assaulted them between 2006 and 2013.

This period marks the height of Brand’s fame – he was a presenter for the BBC and Channel 4 before becoming a high-profile Hollywood star.

The comedian vehemently denied “very serious criminal allegations” in a YouTube video on Friday night, claiming his relationships were “always consensual”.

Here are the allegations against him in full.

Warning: This article contains details of a graphic nature that readers may find distressing

‘Grooming and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old’

Alice – not her real name – alleged she had a sexual relationship with Brand aged just 16 and that he sexually assaulted her.

Brand, who was 30 at the time, sent cars to Alice’s school to collect her from lessons so they could have sex at his home, she said.

He became increasingly controlling during the relationship, Alice said, and encouraged her to lie to family and friends about the relationship, even instructing her to save his number under the name “Carly” to avoid suspicion. She says Brand’s management also told him to keep their relationship private.

She also alleged that he removed a condom during sex without her knowledge.

“Russell engaged in the behaviours of a groomer, looking back, but I didn’t even know what that was then, or what that looked like,” she said.

While in bed with Brand, Alice says the comedian forced his penis into her mouth to the point she was unable to breathe.

“I was pushing him away and he wasn’t backing off at all,” she said.

“I ended up having to punch him really hard in the stomach to get him off. I was crying and he said, ‘Oh, I only wanted to see your mascara run anyway’.”

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How the Brand allegations came out

After this, he held her mouth open, drooled into it, and then held her mouth shut, forcing her to swallow his spit and leaving her “gagging and crying”.

Alice also told the investigation that Brand found it arousing that she was a virgin, called her “the child” and “my little dolly” and asked her to read the 1955 novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov about a professor sexually obsessed with pre-pubescent girls.

‘Raping a businesswoman in LA’

Nadia, who did not use her real name to protect her identity, said Brand raped her at his home in LA in 2012.

They previously had consensual sex but Nadia said he had a “glazed over” look during the encounter.

In the early hours of 1 July 2012, Brand pleaded with her to visit his house.

When she got there, he asked her to join him and a “friend” for a threesome in his bedroom, she alleged.

When she refused, Nadia said Brand pushed her against a wall and raped her without using a condom.

Russell Brand in 2012 Pic: AP
Image:
Russell Brand in 2012. Pic: AP

After escaping his house, she said Brand sent her a text at 3.29am, which said: “I’m sorry. That was crazy and selfish. I hope you can forgive me, I know that you’re a lovely person. X.”

She said she ignored a call from him but texted him the following morning to say he had “scared the s***” out of her, adding: “When a girl say(s) NO it means no.”

Brand replied he was “very sorry” and “embarrassed” by his behaviour, The Times reported.

Nadia provided the team of journalists with her medical records from a rape treatment centre she went to after the rape, as well as therapy records.

Several months later, she said she wrote to Brand, saying: “You completely broke me down.”

Brand ‘fired woman who worked for him after sex assault’

Phoebe – not her real name – had a brief consensual relationship with Brand after they met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in 2013, she said.

He later hired her for a project they worked on together.

During this time, Phoebe said she became “trapped” in a bedroom in Brand’s home and he started chasing her around the room.

Russell Brand in his latest YouTube video Pic: YouTube/Russell Brand
Image:
Russell Brand denied the allegations in his latest YouTube video. Pic: YouTube/Russell Brand

Brand, who was naked, “grabbed me and got me on the bed” and tried to forcibly remove her clothes.

She said: “I was screaming, and I was like, ‘What are you doing, stop, please, you’re my friend, I love you, please don’t do this, I don’t want to do this’. I think he had his hands down my trousers but I was fighting so hard and I was screaming so hard, hoping that I could get through somehow.”

When the assault ended, Phoebe said Brand became “super angry” and shouted “f*** you” and told her she was fired.

She ran out of his house barefoot, running into a group of people outside who had arrived for a business meeting, Phoebe said.

One of the people in the group apologised to Phoebe years later, she claimed.

She said: “He pulled me aside and he said to me, ‘I have never forgiven myself for not running in that house to save you. I heard you screaming. And I didn’t know what to do. And we were all so scared of him and I didn’t do anything. And I am sorry’.”

Phoebe continued working with Brand but she said he “cornered her” and threatened legal action when he discovered she had told friends about the alleged assault.

‘Sexually assaulted ex-girlfriend’

Brand’s former girlfriend Jordan Martin did not provide an account to the journalists working on the investigation due to “personal family circumstances” but confirmed to the team that she stood by allegations she made in a self-published book.

The former model had a six-month relationship with Brand in 2007.

In her book, she detailed an alleged sexual assault at The Lowry Hotel in Manchester between Dina and Randall Grand – pseudonyms she used for herself and Brand.

Ms Martin said the comedian became angry when he found out she had spoken to an ex-boyfriend.

He then grabbed her phone and assaulted her in the bathroom, sliding his hand into her underwear, she claimed.

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Brand arrives at gig after sex assault claims

She said she was “not ready for this intrusion” and did not find it “sensual or pleasant”.

Brand also forced her to brush her teeth so hard that it made her gums bleed so she would taste “anonymous” to him, Ms Martin said.

She wrote that Brand “pushes boundaries, controlling other people to fulfil personal perversions for the sake of dominance”.

“There were times when I felt bullied and abused, not in a physical or sexual way, but mentally. I was vulnerable… His manipulative side was so powerful it was easier to just submit.”

Brand has never disputed Ms Martin’s account in her book.

‘Offered naked assistant to Jimmy Savile’

Dispatches and The Times also detailed other disturbing behaviour in the documentary – including inappropriate comments made to paedophile Jimmy Savile.

On his radio show in 2007, Brand spoke with Savile, who said they could meet if Brand brought his sister.

The comedian said he didn’t have a sister but offered to bring his assistant naked to the meeting.

“I’ve got a personal assistant, and part of her job description is that anyone I demand she greet, meet, massages, she has to do it. She’s very attractive, Jimmy,” Brand is claimed to have said.

Savile died in 2011 aged 84.

More than 450 allegations of sexual abuse against children were reported to police after his death.

Read more:
Brand denies claims
Comedian tells fans at gig there are ‘things he can’t discuss’
From drug addict to star often at centre of controversy

‘Flashing junior staff’

Brand’s personal assistant between 2006 and 2007 also alleged he showed friends intimate pictures of women.

Brand also instructed the assistant, Helen Berger, to procure women for him to have sex with from audiences on shows he presented, she claimed.

She also said Brand often wore only underwear around her and had a “very active sex addiction”.

Meanwhile, a production runner on Big Brother’s Efourum said Brand flashed her on set and insinuated she “might like to suck his d***”.

She added: “I was incredibly shocked. I wasn’t going to tell anyone what he’d done because I didn’t want to lose my job.”

She later had consensual sex with him but he insisted she had to keep it a secret.

“As an older woman I can say with clarity I felt like I was groomed for sex,” the runner said.

“Production companies enabled him to exist in environments where he was able to take advantage of who he was.”

Another crew member said she raised a separate complaint with a colleague about Brand’s sexual pursuit of audience members on his shows.

The crew member said women often phoned her in tears “because they felt used”.

“I don’t know what went on once they left the studio,” they added.

She said it felt she was a “pimp to Russell Brand’s need” and that they “were taking lambs into slaughter”.

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Brand denies ‘serious allegations’

Brand denies allegations ‘absolutely’

Denying the allegations in a video posted online ahead of the publication of the claims, Brand said he was facing a “litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks”.

The 48-year-old said: “These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies and as I have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.

“Now during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well.

“To see that transparency metastasised into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question – is there another agenda at play?”

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MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace steps down as Kirsty Wark among 13 who claim he made inappropriate sexual jokes

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MasterChef's Gregg Wallace steps down as Kirsty Wark among 13 who claim he made inappropriate sexual jokes

MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has stepped down over allegations he made a series of inappropriate sexual comments on a range of programmes over 17 years.

Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have made claims, with Wallace being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.

In an interview with the BBC, the Newsnight presenter, who was a celebrity contestant on MasterChef in 2011, claimed Wallace used “sexualised language”.

“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if it was anyone engaged with this,” Wark said.

“It was completely one-way traffic. I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really didn’t expect to happen.”

Sky News has contacted Wallace’s representative for comment.

Kirsty Wark arriving at the BAFTA Scotland Awards at DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central. Picture date: Sunday November 17, 2024.
Image:
Kirsty Wark. File pic: PA

‘Fully cooperating’

Banijay UK said the complaints were made to the BBC this week by “individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our shows”.

The company said the 60-year-old, who has been a co-presenter and judge of the popular cooking show since 2005, was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”.

“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” the company said.

“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.

“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.

“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”

A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.

“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.

“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”

Previous investigation

Last month, Wallace responded to reports that a previous BBC review had found he could continue working at the corporation following reports of an alleged incident in 2018 when he appeared on Impossible Celebrities.

Wallace said those claims had been investigated “promptly” at the time and said he had not said “anything sexual” while appearing on the game show more than half a decade ago.

In an Instagram post following an article in The Sun newspaper, he wrote: “The story that’s hitting the newspapers was investigated promptly when it happened six years ago by the BBC.

“And the outcome of that was that I hadn’t said anything sexual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.”

Read more from Sky News:
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Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015.

Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014
Image:
Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014. Pic: PA

Wallace has featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.

He was made an MBE for services to food and charity last year.

Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will be transmitted as planned, the PA news agency understands.

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Every pensioner in Scotland to receive winter fuel payment next year

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Every pensioner in Scotland to receive winter fuel payment next year

The Scottish government has announced that all pensioners in Scotland will receive a winter fuel payment in 2025/26.

The devolved benefit is expected to come into force by next winter and will help the estimated 900,000 people north of the border who were cut off from accessing the winter fuel payment which used to be universal.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced the news in a statement to the Scottish parliament on Thursday.

It comes after both the UK and Scottish governments earlier this year axed the universal winter fuel payment, except for those in receipt of pension credit or other means-tested benefits.

At Westminster, Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed the decision was made due to financial woes inherited from the previous Conservative government.

Ms Reeves said the restriction would save the Treasury around £1.4bn this financial year.

The decision led to the Scottish government – which was due to take control over a similar payment through the devolved Social Security Scotland but has since announced a delay – to follow suit.

More on Benefits

The payment is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland, however the SNP government said Labour’s approach would cause up to a £160m cut to Scottish funding in 2024-25.

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Officers investigated over death of teenager with autism who escaped police car on M5

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Officers investigated over death of teenager with autism who escaped police car on M5

Two police officers have been served with misconduct notices after a teenager with autism escaped from a police car and died on the M5.

Tamzin Hall, from Wellington, was hit by a car on the M5 between junction 25 at Taunton and 24 at Bridgwater shortly after 11pm on 11 November and sustained fatal injuries.

She had been under arrest at the time and was travelling in an Avon and Somerset Police car which had stopped on the motorway, an inquest at Wells Town Hall heard on Tuesday.

Tamzin was being taken to custody when officers pulled over for “safety reasons”, the Independent Office for Police Conduct said.

She had been handcuffed with her hands in front of her and had an officer sat beside her, the IOPC added.

She fled the stationary marked police car on the northbound carriageway and died after she was hit by a car on the southbound carriageway.

In a statement the IOPC said the two officers from Avon and Somerset Police had been served misconduct notices for a “potential breach of their duties and responsibilities”.

Such notices advise officers their conduct is subject to an investigation, but does not necessarily mean any disciplinary proceedings will follow.

IOPC regional director David Ford said: “My thoughts and sympathies remain with Tamzin’s family and friends, and everyone affected by the tragic events of that evening.

“We have met with Tamzin’s family to offer our condolences and to outline how our investigation will progress. We will provide them with regular updates as our inquiries continue.

“Our investigation is in the early stages and we are working hard to establish the exact circumstances of what took place, from the time of Tamzin’s arrest, to how events unfolded a short time later on the M5.”

The IOPC began its investigation earlier this month and is looking into what contact the police had with Tamzin prior to her death, including their actions, decision-making and risk assessments of the situation, and whether these followed the relevant training and policies.

Read more from Sky News:
Gregg Wallace steps down over claims he made inappropriate sexual jokes
Former soldier who escaped prison guilty of spying for Iran
Net migration falls – as previous year’s figure revised to almost a million

Mother pays tribute to ‘very special’ daughter

Speaking after the hearing on Tuesday, Tamzin’s mother Amy Hall paid tribute to her “very special” daughter, who she said had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

“Tamzin was the most kindest, caring, loving, loyal girl ever. She was the most honest person I’ve ever known; she was very special to me,” she said.

“She had a great sense of humour, and we had many laughs together.”

She added: “Tamzin was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, so she was unique and saw the world in such a different way.

“Tamzin was my absolute everything and I can’t believe she isn’t here any more. She was my world.”

She said: “She was only 17 but she has taught me a lot and I can use that memory and hold on to that.

“I will never ever get over it, she was taken far too young.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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