BRYONY GORDON: The brave women who helped convict Russell Brand have allowed me to acknowledge the truth about my own experiences with him when I was 25

Résumé détaillé

We met in a cafe in Primrose Hill, and I remember being completely thrown when this funny, sparky Fagin-like creature almost immediately began propositioning me.

Published: 01:00 GMT, 13 November 2026 | Updated: 02:26 GMT, 13 November 2026

When I read the testimony of Woman Five in the trial of Russell Brand, my teeth began chattering violently.

It was sudden and unexpected, an uncontrollable reaction that gripped my body as the words from witness statements fired up neurons in my brain, dislodging long-buried memories of my own demeaning encounters with the comedian.

As I read this brave woman's words – him asking her to have a shower and brush her teeth before the appalling encounter – I realised I was shaking like a leaf, and I was crying, too.

I was 25 when I was sent to interview Russell Brand. He was an up-and-coming comedian and had just begun presenting a Big Brother spin-off show, and despite what his lawyer Ian Winter KC said in court, I had no idea of his reputation, other than that he was a few years clean and sober from heroin addiction.

We met in a cafe in Primrose Hill, and I remember being completely thrown when this funny, sparky Fagin-like creature almost immediately began propositioning me, telling me how beautiful I was and asking if he could kiss me.

Russel Brand, pictured in 2012, was jailed for more than ten years this week after being convicted of rape and sexual assault

Bryony Gordon was sent to interview Brand when she was 25. He told her how beautiful she was and asked if he could kiss her

I remember I giggled a lot. Afterwards, he insisted on walking me to the Tube station, and the whole way there, he continued to ask if he could kiss me, while I continued to tell him he couldn't. I returned to the office, and within moments my phone began ringing – he had got my number from his PR. And so began a bombardment, 20 or 30 phone calls and texts a day.

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