Russell Brand spent his first night in custody “petrified,” having told his wife on camera only days earlier that the prospect of prison frightened him.
The comedian and former Hollywood actor is being held at Wandsworth prison in south London after being convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.
Brand, 51, was taken to the high-security jail, where he underwent a medical assessment and strip search before being placed in a cell ahead of his sentencing on Monday.
Once the cell door closed, he faced his first night on a hard bed inside the cramped Victorian prison. His tailored suit and silk cravat were removed and replaced with a plain prison tracksuit.
By morning, he had been served cereal or porridge, fruit and tea in his cell, which measures approximately 9.8ft by 6.7ft.
Prison officials are also understood to be conscious that Brand’s celebrity status and conviction for sexual offences could make him vulnerable to violence from other inmates.
The father of three appeared visibly shaken as the possibility of a lengthy prison term hung over his trial, this publication can reveal.
His wife, Laura Gallacher, left Southwark Crown Court in tears yesterday. She later read him a message from a supporter who said God would be with him in prison and that he would “get through it”.
Brand, who had said he entered court each day wearing the “full armour of God”, interrupted her to acknowledge his fear during an episode of their Sunday Service programme recorded on October 11, the day before jury selection began.
Tapping Laura on the shoulder, he said: “I don’t like things where it’s like you might have to go to prison.”
She responded: “Yeah, I know, but that is just the nature of what a trial is.”
Russell Brand told his wife he feared prison during a podcast recorded at the beginning of his trial. Laura replied that the possibility of jail was part of being on trial
Russell Brand spent his first night in custody after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. He was strip-searched and medically assessed on arrival
Photographers gathered as Brand was taken from court in a prison van ahead of his sentencing on Monday
Brand was permitted one phone call, believed to have been made to his wife Laura Gallacher, who supported him throughout the trial
Months earlier, Piers Morgan had asked Brand whether he had considered the possibility that he could end up in prison.
Brand replied: “I will be with God wherever I am.”
That prospect became reality yesterday when Brand was remanded in custody after being convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. Prosecutors had described his conduct as driven by “voracious” and violent lust.
He arrived at the prison at around 6pm, where officers carried out a strip search and medical assessment, including questions about any medication he was taking.
Brand was once known as a flamboyant, outspoken entertainer who appeared in Hollywood films and married one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
That background contrasts sharply with life inside a small prison cell, where daily routines are controlled by strict institutional rules.
Because the first 24 hours in custody can bring a heightened risk of emotional distress or self-harm, staff carried out risk assessments as part of the standard intake process.
Brand is also believed to have undergone body scans, while officers took his fingerprints and photographs and removed his cash and personal belongings.
The distinctive clothing he wore throughout his Southwark Crown Court appearances, including his silk cravat, was taken away and replaced with a grey prison tracksuit.
One personal item Brand, who will be sentenced on Monday, was reportedly allowed to keep was his Bible. As a Christian convert, he will now have considerable time to read the passages that had once eluded him.
After being processed, Brand was placed briefly in a holding cell with other new arrivals while a space was prepared in the prison’s induction wing.
Because he arrived after the evening meal had been served, the former vegan and vegetarian was given a simple packed meal in his cell.
He also received a first-night pack containing toiletries, including a toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as cereal, tea, milk and sugar.
The pack included snacks such as Polos, juice sticks and digestive biscuits.
Brand was given one toilet roll, two pairs of prison jogging bottoms, T-shirts, sweatshirts and underwear.
He was allowed a single three-minute phone call, believed to have been made to his wife, Laura, 39, who stood by him during proceedings at Southwark Crown Court.
That is expected to be his only call for the next week while his contact numbers are checked, approved and linked to a personal identification number.
Brand, who is understood to have been taken to Wandsworth in London, was monitored continuously and kept separate from the wider prison population.
With the prison operating to a strict timetable, his cell door was locked soon after he had settled in.
Officers carried out regular overnight checks in line with standard prison procedures.
His new surroundings are basic: a thin mattress on a fixed concrete platform, a stainless-steel toilet and sink, and a table and stool bolted to the floor.
The stark cell is a world away from Brand’s former home, a £6million six-bedroom riverside mansion in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
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Separated from his wife and three children, his only immediate companion is an unidentified cellmate—an unfamiliar and potentially frightening experience for any new prisoner.
Former inmates have described the first loss of freedom as deeply distressing and disorientating.
Brand was questioned by detectives in July last year over allegations of rape and sexual assault
The volunteer-run Doing Time website describes the first night in custody this way: “The first night tends to pass very slowly, as it has for countless prisoners before you.
“Every horror story you’ve ever heard about prison will probably run through your head, and if you’ve seen The Shawshank Redemption, you’ll be bracing for the worst.
“It would be dishonest to pretend there’s no violence or conflict in prison—there is, and not all of it makes the news.”
After his four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, Brand appeared unprepared for immediate custody. He reportedly arrived without the overnight bag he might have been advised to bring.
Hi, I’m Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
Russell Brand has been convicted of rape and three sexual assaults, while our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull attended every day of the trial. They spoke with Detective Inspector Laura Nelson, who explained why the women who accused Brand in the documentary were not involved in the rape trial.
Subscribe to The Crime Desk to hear the podcast.
As the jury returned its verdicts, Brand—who had faced allegations involving groping and forcing women into sexual acts over a decade between 1999 and 2009—stood in the dock.
He closed his eyes but displayed little visible emotion as he was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was cleared of two rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Security staff escorted the celebrity from the dock in Courtroom Three to a holding cell below, while his wife, Laura Gallacher, cried in the public gallery.
The court rejected a request from Brand’s lawyers for him to say goodbye to Laura and their three children before he was taken into custody.
He was later allowed a brief telephone call home, intended to ensure that family arrangements had been made.
Brand will remain at the prison until Monday morning, when he is due to return to court for sentencing. He has already been warned that he faces a substantial custodial term.
Sources told this publication that Brand’s legal team is considering its options and may appeal on the grounds that he did not receive a fair trial.
The star is understood to have spent about £5,000,000 on legal representation and is waiting to hear his sentence before deciding how to proceed.
His lawyers are also believed to be considering an application to move him to a prison such as HMP Huntercombe, where tennis champion Boris Becker served his sentence.
Huntercombe is near Brand’s home, although the prison is designated exclusively for adult male foreign national offenders.
Brand’s period in custody began beneath the court, where he spent two hours before HM Prison Service officers collected him and escorted him to a secure van through a side entrance.
He kept his head down in an apparent attempt to avoid photographers gathered outside and trying to capture images through the van windows.
At the prison, Brand was taken to reception and formally processed. Officers verified his identity, conducted security checks and logged the small amount of property he had with him.
His grey-and-black pinstripe suit, waistcoat and high-heeled cowboy-style boots were packed away, while he was issued the plain prison tracksuit.
The physical and mental health screening would have included assessments for substance misuse and potential suicide or self-harm risks before he was moved to the prison’s segregation wing.
During the trial, Brand and Laura continued to co-host Sunday Service, a home-recorded video blog and podcast in which they discussed their Christian faith, read from the Bible and prayed together.
He has now lost access to social media, while mobile phones and laptops are treated as prohibited items. The crucifix he wore and the rosary beads he held for comfort would also have been removed as part of measures designed to reduce the risk of self-harm.
Brand was convicted of raping a 21-year-old fan after meeting her at a stand-up performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009.
He was also convicted of groping an MTV employee at a Soho bar party in 2004, but acquitted of orally raping her in a toilet.
Jurors found Brand guilty of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio employee after meeting her in a corridor in 2005, and of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 employee during a forced massage in 2009.
Brand is understood to have been taken to Wandsworth prison
He was acquitted of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show on the sidelines of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. He was also found not guilty of attempting to drag an MTV employee into a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001.
Mr Justice Bentham told him: “You’ve been convicted of a number of offences including rape. The consequence of that is inevitably a significant custodial term.”
Rape carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while determinate sentences can reach 19 years depending on the seriousness of the offence and sentencing guidelines.
Sexual assault carries a maximum sentence of 10 years for each offence.
Before sentencing, Brand is likely to spend long hours confronting the consequences of the convictions and the abrupt end of the wealthy, high-profile life he once led.
