Convicted rapist Russell Brand spent his first night in a prison cell on Thursday after being remanded in custody ahead of sentencing.

The disgraced comedian and actor, 51, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others following a trial lasting several weeks.

He was cleared of two further counts of rape and one charge of attempted indecent assault.

The Met has also confirmed investigations are ongoing into two further allegations of rape made against Brand - one of which comes from a woman who dated Brand when he was 30 and she was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.

Mr Justice Bennathan told Brand he now faced a substantial custodial sentence and rejected an application for bail pending sentencing.

The former comedian will spend the weekend in custody before he returns to the same court on Monday to learn his prison sentence.

His wife, Laura Gallacher, who attended much of the trial, appeared distressed in the public gallery as the verdicts were delivered and the judge ordered Brand to be remanded into custody.

Brand responded: "Yes, my Lord."

In September 2023, an investigation by journalists from The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches published accusations from women who said they had been raped, sexually abused and degraded by Brand.

During the trial, jurors heard evidence from women who said Brand exploited his celebrity status to pursue sexual encounters and ignored clear boundaries and refusals.

Brand’s former friend Mark Pinheiro also testified during the trial that Brand once boasted of an ambition to have sex with 5,000 women.

Brand’s barrister, Ian Winter KC, lost a plea for his client to be given bail over the weekend so he could say goodbye to his children, with the judge refusing it through fears he would flee instead of returning to court.

He was taken to a high security jail, understood to be either Wandsworth or Belmarsh in London, to be monitored around the clock by guards, and blocked from mixing with other prisoners.

After undergoing a “humiliating” strip-search, he was taken to an induction wing and given basic toiletries and a small food pack, according to The Sun.

Brand was also given a toilet roll and two pairs of grey prison-issue jogging bottoms as well as t-shirts, sweatshirts and underwear.

He was reportedly allowed one short phone call, before staff conducted a interview with him in which they asked about his state of mind and checked he was not a danger to himself.

On Friday, he will be assessed by a nurse and a wellbeing specialist.

A source told The Sun: “All prisoners have to strip off in reception which is humiliating and a real wake-up call.

“He will be in prison-issue clothes and given a first-night pack, which will be a world away from what he is used to.

“All his cockiness will disappear as he takes in his new surroundings.”