Russell Brand 'turned monster-like' during hotel rape, first complainant tells Southwark jury

A woman alleges Brand shifted from "camp, friendly and effeminate" to something "monster-like" the moment she brought him back to her hotel room at the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. She wept in the witness box as she recalled feeling "dirty" and afraid she might be pregnant, telling the court: "I did not want sex from him — I couldn't fight back." Former flatmate Andrew Dobson, giving evidence on the trial's fourth day, said "sex was a huge preoccupation" for Brand, describing evenings on which pursuing a conquest dominated the entertainer's entire conduct. Brand, 51, denies all seven charges — three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault — covering allegations by six women across the period 1999 to 2009.

Prosecutors have branded Brand a "sexual predator" who exploited fame and charisma; his defence argues all encounters were consensual and accusers have "reimagined" events years later.

Wife Laura Gallacher, 38, has been pictured holding Brand's hand at Southwark Crown Court, with an associate saying she is "absolutely besotted" and determined to get through the trial together.