Russell Brand is accused of groping women and forcing them into sexual acts, in allegations which date from 1999 to 2009
Russell Brand will go on trial today charged with a string of alleged sex offences against six women in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The comedian, 51, denies the three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault.
The trial is due to get under way at Southwark Crown Court this morning with the prosecution to open its case to a jury of eight men and four women.
The former Big Brother’s Big Mouth presenter is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, grabbing a TV worker’s breasts and forcing her into a sex act in a toilet, and kissing and groping a radio station worker, it emerged at a previous hearing.
The jurors in the trial were selected at a court hearing on Tuesday, when they were warned by Mr Justice Bennathan to ignore past reporting on the celebrity.
Brand, who lives in Florida, became one of Britain’s best-known comedians in the 2000s and won presenting roles including the 2007 Brit Awards, Comic Relief and the MTV Music Video Awards, and hosted his own show on BBC Radio 2.
The trial is scheduled to last six to eight weeks.