Russell Brand sat in the dock at Southwark Crown Court in London on 12 October 2026 as jury selection began in his trial on charges that he raped three women and sexually or indecently assaulted three others. He denies all seven counts.

Brand, 51, is accused of offences against six women. Prosecutors allege he raped a woman in a Bournemouth hotel room in 1999, tried to drag a woman into a male toilet at a television station in 2001, orally raped a television worker in a toilet in 2004 and groped a radio station worker in 2004 or 2005. Two further charges, one of rape and one of sexual assault, relate to two other women in London in 2009.

Mr Justice Joel Bennathan told prospective jurors the trial was expected to last around six weeks. Earlier estimates were up to five weeks when only the first five charges were listed, around two months after the charges were joined in March 2026 and up to 10 weeks in reports of a pre-trial hearing on 6 October.

Bennathan told the panel that many of them would be familiar with Brand and that the jury would hear some evidence about a 2023 television programme and newspaper article containing allegations against him.

Southwark Crown Court called 50 potential jurors on Monday and had narrowed the pool to 20 by the end of the day, according to UPI. Evidence is expected to begin later in the week.

Brand, who has a home in Buckinghamshire but lives in the US, has been on bail since his first court appearance on 2 May 2025. Ian Winter KC represented him at the hearing on 30 March 2026 at which the two sets of charges were joined.

The charges

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard the particulars of the first five charges on 2 May 2025. Brand spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address and that he understood his bail conditions.

A woman who was attending the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1999 accuses Brand of rape. The court heard she met him at a theatrical event where he was performing and that they later talked in her hotel room. Prosecutors allege she came back from the bathroom to find he had taken off some of his clothes and that he pushed her onto the bed, removed her underwear and raped her.

A woman who worked at a television station in 2001 accuses Brand of indecent assault. The court heard he grabbed her by the forearm and tried to drag her into a male toilet. The offence is alleged to have taken place in Westminster.

A television worker Brand met in Soho in 2004 accuses him of rape and sexual assault. The court heard he grabbed her breasts, pulled her into a toilet and orally raped her. The sexual assault charge alleges he touched her breasts without her consent. PA reported the rape count as oral rape when the charges were read.

A radio station worker who met Brand while he was working for Channel 4 on Big Brother's Big Mouth accuses him of sexual assault between 2004 and 2005. Prosecutors allege he grabbed her face, pushed her against a wall, kissed her and groped her breasts and buttocks.

Two more women are the complainants in the rape and sexual assault charges brought in December 2025, which relate to alleged offences in London in 2009. YAC News found no reported particulars of either allegation beyond the offence, the year and the city.

Brand's response

Brand posted a video after the first charges were announced in April 2025. He said that when he was young and single he had been "a drug addict, sex addict and an imbecile" but denied rape, saying: "I've never engaged in non-consensual activity." He said he was grateful for the chance to defend the charges in court.

Brand told Sky News he was feeling "blessed" when he arrived at Southwark Crown Court for his plea hearing on 24 February 2026, carrying a Bible.

Organisers of the Shelter Island Conference in New York state announced Brand as a featured speaker for the event, held at the Ram's Head Inn from 26 to 28 August 2026 and run by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation.

How the case reached court

The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4's Dispatches published a joint investigation in September 2023 in which several women made allegations against Brand. The Metropolitan Police began investigating the same month.

Jaswant Narwal of the Crown Prosecution Service announced on 4 April 2025 that prosecutors had authorised police to charge Brand with the first five offences.

Westminster Magistrates' Court granted Brand bail on 2 May 2025 and sent the case to the Crown Court. He pleaded not guilty to all five charges at Southwark Crown Court on 30 May 2025.

Brand appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court by video link from Florida on 20 January 2026 on the two 2009 charges and pleaded not guilty to both at Southwark Crown Court on 24 February.

Bennathan joined both sets of charges into a single trial on 30 March 2026 and moved the start date from 16 June to 12 October, saying the court might run out of time and would struggle to find jurors able to sit into the summer holidays.

Brand attended a two-day pre-trial hearing at Southwark Crown Court beginning on 6 October 2026.

Reporting restrictions

The six women who made the complaints are entitled to lifelong anonymity under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, which bars publication of anything likely to identify them.

Rape Crisis England and Wales runs a free support line for anyone aged 16 and over, open 24 hours a day, on 0808 500 2222.