Jury selected and sworn in for comedian’s rape and sexual assault trial

Mr Justice Bennathan presided over the selection process, which concluded on Tuesday after beginning with a pool of 50 prospective jurors the previous day.

Six candidates were promptly dismissed on Monday after indicating they had watched a Channel 4 documentary or read a Times newspaper article from 2023 that contained sexual misconduct allegations against Mr Brand, which he denies.

The remaining candidates were whittled down to 20 on Monday evening and asked to confirm their availability for a trial expected to run between six and nine weeks.

Mr Brand arrived at the central London courthouse shortly after 9:20am on Tuesday, greeting photographers and press by saying “blessed, thank you very much.”

He was dressed in a grey double-breasted suit with an unbuttoned shirt, a long tie, brown boots and sunglasses, which he removed as he climbed the steps to the building.

His security guard accompanied him, though his wife Laura Gallacher, who had attended Monday’s hearing, was not present.

Standing in the dock as the panel was sworn in, Mr Brand heard Mr Justice Bennathan caution jurors firmly against looking into the case independently.

“Don’t carry out any research,” the judge instructed. “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.”

Mr Brand, 51, has entered not guilty pleas to all seven charges he faces. These comprise three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and a single allegation of indecent assault, brought by six different women over a decade-long period from 1999 to 2009.

Earlier court hearings outlined the specific nature of the accusations. Among them, Mr Brand is alleged to have raped a woman in a hotel room during the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.

He is also accused of grabbing a television worker’s breasts and compelling her into a sexual act in a toilet. A further allegation involves the kissing and groping of a worker at a radio station.

The comedian and actor has firmly denied all of the allegations made against him.

Mr Brand’s entertainment career began in stand-up comedy before Channel 4 selected him to present Big Brother spin-off programmes.

During the 2000s, he rose to become one of Britain’s most prominent comedians, hosting the 2007 Brit Awards, Comic Relief and the MTV Music Video Awards, as well as fronting his own BBC Radio 2 show.

The Essex-born performer subsequently transitioned to Hollywood, appearing in films such as the Arthur remake, Get Him To The Greek, and the 2012 musical comedy Rock of Ages.

He has since shifted his focus to podcasting and online content creation, and currently resides in Florida.

The jury has been sent home until Wednesday morning, when prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC is expected to open the case by setting out the full details of the allegations.

Brand wore a grey double-breasted suit, a white shirt and a loose tie for the second day of his trial. The court will sit Monday to Friday, from 10am to 4pm.