Karmy-Jones turned to the first allegation against Brand, in which he is alleged to have raped a woman in a hotel room during a Labour party conference in Bournemouth in 1999.

She told the court a witness named Mark Pinheiro said he recalls that Brand was "desperate" to have sex before they left the conference.

As you will hear, the defendant did achieve his objective.

He found a victim, engaged with her, told her 'exactly what she needed to hear', and then manipulated the situation so as to have sex with her."

The court heard Brand had burst into a flat the morning after the alleged rape in Bournemouth and told the group he was with to "pack up their stuff" and that they "had to leave town immediately". Karmy-Jones said:

Once in the car, the defendant behaved oddly, shrinking down in the back seat to hide his head beneath the window.

"When pressed about where he had been the night before, and why they had to leave so abruptly, he said he had forgotten he had an audition."

Brand would later admit to Pinheiro that it was not an audition but that he had had sex with a woman in Bournemouth the night before their hasty departure, telling him that things "might have got a little out of hand", Karmy-Jones told jurors.

The prosecution cited remarks made by Brand's friends during the early years of his career, including one who described the comedian as someone who "was rampant in his desire to have sex".

Another friend, speaking about Brand before he found fame, described him as "very impulsive. His impulsivity led him to be very single-minded, and women and sex were a goal and an obsession," Karmy-Jones told the court.

She told jurors that these comments would provide an insight into what Brand was like in his former years.

She said: "This is important because what you must bear in mind in this case is that, although you're sat as jurors in Southwark crown court on October 14 2026 listening to my opening address, you will be considering offences that took place between around 27 and 17 years ago, when the defendant was aged roughly between 24-33.

"So the man who you will be considering in this trial is not the Mr Brand who is sitting in the dock, who is now 51."

She added that while Brand may have changed both physically and as a person in the years since that "his responsibility for wrongs done, crimes committed at a younger age remain the same".

Karmy-Jones said the allegations "punctuate" 10 years of Brand's life when "his career was beginning to flourish".

"His public profile was taking off as he was progressing from doing gigs as a standup comedian at pubs and clubs to a TV presenter, an actor and Hollywood movie star," she told jurors.

She added that the circumstances of the alleged offences were "as wide and as varied as the defendant's career", and that the offending took place in a number of locations including a hotel room, workplaces, a toilet cubicle in a bar and at his home address.

Continuing her opening statement, Karmy-Jones said:

His desire, strong desire for some form of sexual contact, was indiscriminate and voracious. He would be nice when he wanted to be, funny – undoubtedly – charming, likable even – when he wanted something in return – but then demanding, entitled, a flirt with a huge sexual appetite, childlike in his expectation that his every desire should be met.

He was ruthless, calculated and manipulative, and, the prosecution say, a sexual predator."

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones has begun proceedings by outlining the charges against Russell Brand to the court.

She told jurors:

Russell Brand, as you may know, and if you didn't know before this trial, is a celebrity.

He was born on June 4 1975 making him now 51 years old.

He is here as he has been charged with a number of sexual offences including rape and sexual assault as you heard, those offences were committed against six different women between approximately 1999 and 2009.

Six different women, six women who did not know each other then and do not know each other now, who have never met each other, and who came forward independently of each other.

Their paths all crossed the defendant's either through their employment, social events or through attending gigs where he was performing."

Brand was driven to the court in a black Mercedes-Benz van, which parked directly outside the court building, where crowds of reporters and photographers had gathered for his trial.

Brand waited inside the vehicle for around a minute before stepping out, wearing a dark suit, a black-and-white striped shirt, a long white tie and sunglasses. He reached out for his wife's hand before the pair walked together towards the court.

Russell Brand spoke to the media as he arrived at court this morning, saying he was feeling "concerned but hopeful".

He said: "Today I feel blessed, I feel of course concerned but hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved.

"That's my prayer."

Russell Brand will be back in Southwark crown court today where his rape and sexual assault trial is expected to begin.

We should be hearing opening statements from the prosecution, which will set out an overview of the allegations against the 51-year-old comedian. He has been charged with three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six women, in allegations that date from 1999 to 2009. Brand has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

He has been pictured arriving at court this morning with his wife, Laura Gallacher.

A jury was sworn in yesterday, with a warning from the judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, to ignore past reporting about Brand and allegations of sexual misconduct. You can read our report here:

The Press Association has been outside court this morning, where news crews have been setting up shop several hours before the trial begins. Here's what the news agency reports:

A crowd of members of the press were gathered outside Southwark crown court hours before Russell Brand's trial was due to start.

Photographers, video journalists and news presenters could be seen in position at around 7.30am, while a line of reporters waited to get in to the court building.

Members of court security were also outside the building, along with a small group of police officers.

One police officer was heard telling members of the press to stay behind barriers which were in place directly outside the building."

The trial is scheduled to begin at 10am, so follow along for live updates throughout the day as the case gets under way.