Russell Brand has been charged with two new offences, including a case of rape, London’s Metropolitan Police announced.
In a recent statement, police said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had authorized a new charge of rape and a charge of sexual assault against two different women, reports the BBC.
The TV presenter, comedian and actor had previously pleaded not guilty to five counts, including two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, all in relation to four women.
Russell Brand, 50, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on January 20, 2026 in relation to the two new charges.
Detectives began investigating the allegations after they were brought to their attention by investigations by the Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches in September 2023.
The CPS said the two new allegations allegedly occurred in 2009 and targeted different women.
A trial is scheduled to begin at Southwark Crown Court on June 16, 2026 on the original five charges, which allegedly took place between 1999 and 2005 in central London and Bournemouth.
Brand, from Oxfordshire, is accused of raping a woman in Bournemouth in 1999 and indecently assaulting another woman in the Westminster area in 2001.
A third charge alleges he sexually assaulted a woman in Westminster between 2004 and 2005, and the rest of the charges relate to the alleged oral rape and sexual assault of another woman in 2004, also in the Westminster area.
Detective Inspector Tariq Farooqi of the Metropolitan Police said women who made complaints were being supported by specially trained officers.
Essex-born Brand rose to fame as a stand-up comedian and rose to fame as a presenter on TV shows such as Big Brother’s Big Mouth, as well as his own radio programs on stations such as BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music.
He later built a career in Hollywood, starring in films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek.
