Russell Brand charged with new rape and sexual assault offences

The Metropolitan Police said Russell Brand was charged with two further offenses, including one count of rape.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has authorized additional charges of rape and sexual assault against two women, the police force said in a new statement.

The broadcaster, comedian and actor had previously pleaded not guilty to five charges, including two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault against four women.

Mr Brand, 50, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on January 20, 2026, in relation to the two new charges.

Detectives began investigating allegations against Mr Brand, which came to light in September 2023 following reporting by the Sunday Times, Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.

The CPS said the two new charges occurred in 2009 and concerned separate women.

A trial will begin at Southwark Crown Court on 16 June 2026 in relation to the five original charges, which allegedly took place between 1999 and 2005 in central London and Bournemouth.

Mr Brand, from Oxfordshire, is accused of raping a woman in Bournemouth in 1999 and indecently assaulting another woman in the Westminster area in 2001.

A third charge alleges he sexually assaulted a woman in Westminster between 2004 and 2005, while the remaining charges relate to allegations of oral rape and sexual assault of another woman in the Westminster area in 2004.

Det Ch Insp Tarik Farooqi, of the Metropolitan Police, said women who reported were receiving support from specially trained officers.

Born in Essex, Mr Brand rose to fame as a stand-up comedian and became a household name, hosting TV shows such as Big Brother’s Big Mouth and his own radio shows on stations such as BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music.

He continued his Hollywood career, starring in films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek.