Russell Brand spent his first night in custody “petrified,” having admitted to his wife on camera just 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 medical checks and a strip search before being placed in a cell ahead of his sentencing on Monday.
Once the steel door closed, Brand faced his first night on a hard bed inside a cramped cell at the Victorian prison. His tailored suit and silk cravat were removed and replaced with a plain, prison-issued tracksuit.
On Friday morning, he was served cereal or porridge, fruit and tea in his 9.8ft by 6.7ft cell.
Because of his celebrity and his conviction for sexual offences, prison officials are also understood to be alert to the possibility that he could become a target for violence.
The father of three appeared visibly shaken as the prospect of a lengthy prison term hung over his trial, Our News Outlet 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 has said he entered court each day wearing the “full armour of God,” interrupted her during an episode of their Sunday Service programme recorded on October 11, the day before jury selection, to acknowledge that he was frightened.
Tapping Laura on the shoulder, he said: “I don’t like things where it’s like you might have to go to prison.”
She replied sympathetically: “Yeah, I know, but that is just the nature of what a trial is.”
Russell Brand told his wife he was uncomfortable with the prospect of 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 behind bars after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. He was strip-searched and medically assessed after arriving at the prison
Photographers crowded around as Brand was taken from court in a prison van to the jail where he is being held ahead of Monday’s sentencing
Brand was permitted one phone call, believed to have been made to his wife, Laura Gallacher, who stood by him throughout much of the trial
Months earlier, Piers Morgan had asked Brand whether he had considered the reality that he might end up in prison.
Brand replied: “I will be with God wherever I am.”
That possibility became reality yesterday, when Brand spent his first night in custody after being found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. Prosecutors had described his alleged conduct as driven by “voracious” and violent lust.
He arrived at the prison at about 6pm, underwent a strip search and completed a medical assessment, including questions about any medication he was taking.
Brand had built a career as a brash, flamboyant and anarchic entertainer before appearing in Hollywood films and marrying one of the world’s best-known pop stars.
That background makes the reality of being confined to a small prison cell, under a rigid institutional regime, appear particularly stark.
Because the first 24 hours in custody can bring a heightened risk of acute distress, self-harm or suicide, staff carried out risk assessments as they do with all new prisoners.
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 clothes he wore to court each day, including the silk cravat around his neck, were taken away and replaced with a grey prison tracksuit.
One valued item Brand was reportedly allowed to keep ahead of Monday’s sentencing was his Bible. As a Christian convert, he will now have considerable time to reflect on the text that he has previously said was difficult for him to understand.
After being processed, Brand was placed temporarily in a holding cell with other new arrivals while staff prepared his accommodation in the prison’s induction wing.
Because he arrived after the evening meal had been served, the previously vegan and vegetarian Brand was given a simple packed dinner in his cell.
He also received a “first-night pack” containing toiletries such as a toothbrush and toothpaste, along with cereal, tea, milk and sugar.
The pack included small treats such as Polos, juice sticks and digestive biscuits.
He was given a single toilet roll, two pairs of prison-issued jogging bottoms, T-shirts, sweatshirts and underwear.
Brand was allowed one three-minute telephone call, believed to have been made to Laura, 39, who supported him throughout the Southwark Crown Court proceedings.
That is expected to be his only call for the next week while his approved telephone numbers are processed and assigned a PIN.
Brand, who is understood to have been taken to Wandsworth in London, was monitored around the clock and kept apart from the wider prison population.
With the prison operating to a strict timetable, his cell door was locked soon after he settled in.
Staff carried out regular checks overnight in accordance with standard prison procedures.
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The accommodation is basic: a thin mattress on a fixed concrete slab, a stainless-steel toilet and sink, and a table and stool bolted to the floor.
It is a world away from Brand’s former home, a £6million, six-bedroom riverside mansion in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
Separated from his wife and three children, his only immediate companion was an unfamiliar cellmate—an experience that can be disorientating, if not frightening.
Former prisoners have described the loss of freedom for the first time as deeply distressing and bewildering.
Brand was questioned by detectives in July last year about the allegations of rape and sexual assault
The volunteer-run Doing Time website describes the experience 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 a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, Brand appeared poorly prepared for what followed. He reportedly arrived without the overnight bag he might have been advised to bring.
As the jury returned its verdicts, Brand stood upright in the dock. He had been accused of groping women and forcing them into sexual acts in allegations spanning a decade, from 1999 to 2009.
He closed his eyes but displayed little other 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 Courtroom Three to a holding cell below, while his wife, Laura Gallacher, cried in the public gallery.
His legal team’s request for him to say goodbye to Laura and their three children before being taken into custody was refused.
He was later offered the chance to make a brief call home to ensure that arrangements for his family had been made.
Brand will remain at the prison until Monday morning, when he will return to court for sentencing. He has already been warned that he faces a lengthy custodial term.
Sources told Our News Outlet that Brand’s lawyers are considering their options and may appeal on the basis that he did not receive a fair trial.
The star, who is reported to have spent £5,000,000 on legal representation, is said to be waiting for the sentence before deciding how to proceed.
His lawyers are also believed to be considering asking prison authorities to transfer him to a facility such as HMP Huntercombe, where tennis champion Boris Becker served time.
Huntercombe is near Brand’s home, although the prison is designated exclusively for adult male foreign national offenders.
Brand’s imprisonment began beneath the court building, 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 lowered to avoid being photographed through the vehicle’s windows by the group of waiting photographers.
At the prison, Brand was taken to reception and formally processed. Officers verified his identity, carried out security checks and removed and recorded the small amount of personal property he had with him.
His grey-and-black pinstripe suit, waistcoat and high-heeled cowboy-style boots were bagged for storage, and he was issued the plain prison tracksuit.
The initial physical and mental-health checks would have included assessments for substance misuse, suicide and self-harm before he was moved to the prison’s segregation wing.
Throughout the trial, Brand and Laura continued to co-host their home-recorded video blog and podcast, Sunday Service. The programme regularly focused on their Christian faith, Bible readings and shared prayers.
He now has no access to social media, while mobile phones and laptops are treated as prohibited items. The crucifix he wore around his neck and the rosary beads he held for comfort would also have been removed as a precaution against 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 found guilty of groping an MTV employee at a Soho bar party in 2004, but was acquitted of orally raping her in a toilet.
Jurors convicted Brand 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.
The judge, 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 convictions can carry a life sentence, while standard maximum determinate sentences can reach 19 years, depending on the seriousness of the offence and sentencing guidelines.
Sexual assault convictions carry a maximum sentence of 10 years for each count.
Even before sentencing, the hours Brand spends staring at four walls will give him ample time to consider how far his once lavish lifestyle has already receded into the past.
