Jack Grey
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The prosecution has outlined its case against Russell Brand, and the court is now beginning to hear from witnesses.

Brand, 51, is charged with three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, said to have occurred between 1999 and 2009. Brand denies all the charges against him.

Earlier, prosecutors detailed all seven offences, describing Brand as "ruthless" and a "sexual predator".

Six separate women have made allegations against the actor, which we will hear more details on throughout the trial.

It is expected to last six weeks, and we'll be reporting on it throughout - including the case for the defence.

We are pausing our live coverage now, but you canread more on the BBC website throughout the trial - including our story wrapping up the coverage so far.

You can follow the trial of Russell Brand day by day on the BBC podcast Fame Under Fire: Russell Brand on Trial - available on BBC Sounds, YouTube, iPlayer, or wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Sima Kotecha
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

There was a lot of detail in the prosecution’s opening that was too graphic to broadcast or print.

Russell Brand has been accused of serious sexual assaults, including rape, and the alleged details of what he is accused of doing are disturbing.

He denies all the charges against him and has pleaded not guilty. As the court heard this morning, he denies any non-consensual sexual activity.

Brand remained incredibly still in court. In the dock he sat upright and didn’t fidget or dramatically change his posture.

For the first time this week, the door to the dock was left open which made it possible for him to see his wife, in the public seating to his right.

At times he looked as if he was meditating - although we can’t be clear this is what he was doing.

Image source, Reuters

Katie Williams
Live reporter

Image source, Julia Quenzler / BBC

We have now heard details of all of the offences allegedly committed by Russell Brand.

The allegations from the first four women were outlined earlier - we've recapped those in a previous post.

After a short break in proceedings, the jury then heard how the fifth complainant met Brand when he was performing at the Hammersmith Apollo in London in 2009.

The prosecution says their encounter began with consensual activity - he is then accused of raping her anally on a later occasion.

The jury heard how the woman "spent months and years blaming herself", becoming anxious and unwell.

Brand is said to have texted the woman after seeing her at an event the next summer, saying: "I wanna push you further."

She is said to have replied: "I think you pushed me far enough – you treated me like an animal." He allegedly replied: "I’m sorry."

The sixth complainant - who has accused Brand of sexual assault - says he demanded a massage when she was on a work assignment in 2009.

He "fell to his knees and placed his head directly into her groin area", the prosecution says.

He is said to have became "petulant and obstructive" with her when his companions laughed at her calling his shoulders "bony".

Brand denies all allegations against him. The defence's full case will start later in the trial.

Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

"Six women, separate women, different allegations," says prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones, as she concludes the opening of the case against Brand.

"When you hear them I have no doubt that you will find their evidence compelling," she adds.

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

After hearing details relating to the sixth complainant, the jury is again told that Brand "provided a prepared statement setting out that he has never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity, and that any accounts had been reinvented or imagined after a defamatory documentary and subsequent press reporting".

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The prosecution says the sixth complainant felt she had to comply with the massage demand from Russell Brand, so she touched his shoulders and said: "Urgh you’re really bony."

His companions laughed, which "annoyed Mr Brand" who then became "petulant and obstructive", the prosecution says.

The woman complained at the time in 2009 and "it went higher up the ladder", but she felt her complaint was "not taken seriously at that time", the prosecution says.

She told others and then formally reported the matter to her employer and to the police in 2023. Russell Brand denies her allegation.

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Moving on to the sixth complainant, the prosecution says Russell Brand demanded a massage from the alleged victim when she was on a work assignment.

The court is told Brand said he "was unhappy" and would not complete the job otherwise.

Referring to Brand and others with him at the time, the prosecution says the complainant thought "they must be joking" before she then "realised they meant it".

"She said no, and they said she had to," the jury is told.

Prosecutors say Brand walked back into the room and straight up to her as she was seated on a chair.

"He fell to his knees and placed his head directly into her groin area," says Karmy-Jones, the prosecutor.

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The prosecution says Russell Brand was interviewed in relation to this alleged offence, relating to the fifth complainant, and provided a prepared statement to the police.

"In that statement he set out that he has never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity, and that any accounts had been reinvented or imagined after a defamatory documentary and subsequent press reporting," the prosecution says.

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The summer after the alleged rape, the fifth complainant was working at an event when she suddenly saw Brand in the courtyard and she ran out, the court hears.

Prosecutors say she then received a text message from Brand, on a phone from 2009 that she no longer owns.

The alleged victim recalls replying something along the lines of "why are you even messaging me?", the jury is told.

Prosecutors say Brand replied: "Because you’re dirty, and I wanna push you further."

The fifth complainant says she replied: "I think you pushed me far enough – you treated me like an animal."

And his response by text was immediate – he simply said "I’m sorry," the jury is told.

The prosecution says the complainant did not see or hear from Brand again.

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Using the complainant's own words, the prosecutor says 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."

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

• Warning - this post contains distressing details

Continuing to outline the charges relating to the fifth complainant, the prosecution says there was consensual vaginal sex between Brand and the woman.

"Prior to doing so, she asked him to wear a condom which he did," the prosecution says.

"She said she did not really enjoy the experience, it felt very awkward and said it could have been anyone, it didn’t matter who it was and sort of wanted it to be over," adds Karmy-Jones.

The prosecution says Brand then turned the woman over and raped her anally. She asked him to stop and he did not, the prosecution says. She realised he had taken off the condom, it is alleged.

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The fifth complainant had been in a relationship at the time and she felt guilty about the liaison, the prosecution says.

The prosecution adds that the complainant did not have full vaginal sex with Brand initially, but Brand texted her over the next few days.

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The prosecution describes an encounter with the fifth complainant in 2009.

Karmy-Jones says the encounter began with consensual sexual activity.

The complainant met Brand when he was performing at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. She was the youngest of the alleged victims in this case, at the time of the alleged offences.

Katie Williams
Live reporter

This morning, the prosecution has begun setting out the case against Russell Brand, who is being tried on three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. He denies all the charges.

Here's a recap of what we've heard so far:

• Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC said all six alleged victims "have never met each other" and "came forward independently of each other"
• The jury heard Brand was "ruthless and calculated", with an "indiscriminate and voracious" desire for sexual contact and a "childlike" expectation that his desires should be met
• Turning to testimony from a former friend of Brand, the prosecution said Brand had wanted to "bed 5,000 women" in his lifetime and had set himself "rules" to achieve this
• The first alleged rape is said to have taken place in Bournemouth during the Labour Party conference in 1999. The jury heard that the woman emerged from the bathroom in her hotel room to find Brand "partially undressed" and "prancing" around the room, before the alleged incident happened
• The second alleged offence - indecent assault - relates to 2001 and an MTV worker. Brand is said to have grabbed the woman, trying to get her to come into the toilets with him
• The third complainant refers to an oral rape in a toilet in a London bar in 2004 - the complainant also says Brand grabbed and squeezed her breasts (there are two charges relating to this complainant)
• The fourth complainant in 2004 / 2005 refers to an incident at Capital Radio, where Brand is said to have pushed the complainant up against a wall before kissing her "sloppily and aggressively", before the woman was able to push Brand away

We're expecting to hear more from the prosecution now. As a reminder, the defence argument will start later in the trial.

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The prosecution continues to outline details from the fourth complainant, which relates to an alleged incident at Capital Radio in 2004 / 2005.

"It was all quite rough, fast and frenzied.

"While this was happening, she looked to the woman and men who he had been with, hoping for some help, but they did nothing.

"She finally managed to push him away."

The prosecution says that when the woman managed to push Brand away, he "just sniggered, like it was a joke".

"These women meant nothing to him," says the prosecutor, who suggests they were a way for him to be "funny" for his friends.

Sima Kotecha
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

• Warning - this post contains distressing details

The fourth complainant relates to an incident at Capital Radio in 2004 / 2005.

The prosecution alleges Russell Brand "instantly grabbed" the complainant by her face with both hands and pushed her up against a wall, where he kissed her "sloppily and aggressively".

The counsel says during the alleged assault "he also grabbed her body, at her breasts, sides and buttocks - aggressively".

The complainant is said to have tried to push him off, but "he was too strong and he continued to kiss her on her face, and down her neck and onto her chest area, grabbing her bum and moving his mouth towards her cleavage, and grabbing her breast so hard that it was painful".

Sima Kotecha
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

• Warning - this post contains distressing details

After the alleged incident in the toilet in 2004, the prosecution says the complainant was "in disbelief".

She said as they were driving to another venue, Brand nudged her and as she looked over.

"He was looking down at his lap smiling – and she saw that his penis was out and he said, 'come on, come on, suck it' – to which she just said 'No no'," the jury is told.

"He simply laughed but appeared to accept her refusal," the prosecution adds.

Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

• Warning - this post contains distressing details

The third complainant says she met Brand at a party at a bar in Soho in London in 2004.

The prosecution says within a very short time, less than a minute, in the middle of a conversation, Brand lurched forward and grabbed her breasts and squeezed them with both hands.

The woman was "shocked", the jury is told.

The prosecution says the woman remembers that he had a "big, weird grin"on his face as he did so Brand then grabbed her arm and held her quite strongly and pulled her towards the toilets.

Claire Ellison
Reporting from Soutwark Crown Court

The third alleged offence is an oral rape in a toilet in 2004, after the complainant says Brand grabbed and squeezed her breasts, the prosecution says.