Russell Brand's wife says 'oh God' to her disgraced husband as he winked

Russell Brand was awaiting sentence at Southwark Crown Court on Monday after being convicted the previous week of rape and sexual assault. During the hearing, he exchanged words and gestures with his wife, Laura Gallacher, before proceedings paused for lunch.

Gallacher said “oh God” as Brand entered the dock, according to the Liverpool Echo’s account of the hearing. He turned towards her and told her: “It’ll be OK, I don’t know how, but it will.” She replied: “I love you.” The pair nodded to one another as the judge explained how the sentencing hearing would proceed.

Brand held a crucifix, winked and nodded towards Gallacher and people in the public gallery before the lunch break. Earlier, he had prayed and made the sign of the cross as one of the women he had been convicted of offending entered court to give a victim impact statement.

The jury at Southwark Crown Court found Brand guilty of raping a woman in 2009 and sexually assaulting women who worked in television and radio between 2004 and 2009. The convictions followed a four-week trial, according to the court coverage.

The jury also found him not guilty of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show during the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, and not guilty of attempting to drag an MTV worker into a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001.

Brand had spent the four nights before Monday in HMP Wandsworth and was brought back to court for sentencing by Mr Justice Bennathan. His barrister, Ian Winter KC, urged the judge to temper the sentence and described Brand as a man of “effectively good character”. Winter also said his client was “a fundamentally different person today”.

The judge challenged one point made in mitigation: that Brand had “got away with it for 17 years”. Mr Justice Bennathan said that was not necessarily a significant mitigating factor. The judge was due to begin his sentencing remarks at 2pm after the lunch break.

During the trial, the court heard allegations about Brand’s conduct towards women during the period in which he became a prominent comedian, television and radio presenter, and actor. The convictions concern the specific offences for which the jury found him guilty; the separate allegations that resulted in acquittals did not lead to convictions.

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