Jury selection began Monday in Russell Brand's rape and sexual-assault trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Jury selection is the start of the trial. It is not a verdict. The BBC and the Press Association agree that six women are involved, that he denies the charges, and that the judge told jurors the case should take about six weeks. The BBC says the pool was cut to 20 and that jurors might be needed until Dec. 11. The Press Association says six panel members who remembered 2023 coverage were dismissed, and it does not give Dec. 11. The BBC calls his wife Laura. The Press Association calls her Laura Gallacher.

The BBC reported Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, that Russell Brand appeared at Southwark Crown Court in London as jury selection began in his rape and sexual-assault trial. The BBC reported he is 51 and that he has been charged with three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault, and one allegation of indecent assault, alleged to have occurred between 1999 and 2009 in London and Bournemouth. The Irish Examiner and The Standard, in a Press Association account, reported the same court and the same age, and six women. The Irish Examiner printed the list as three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one allegation of indecent assault. The Standard's deny sentence uses "sexual assaults," plural. The BBC's list uses counts for the rape charges and charges for the sexual-assault counts. A list of counts read as a trial opens is the accusation.

The arrival is the same morning and not the same description. The BBC reported he arrived in a grey suit and sunglasses, with his wife Laura. The Press Association account reported he arrived in a black Mercedes, waited a few minutes before getting out, took Laura Gallacher by the hand, and said nothing to reporters who shouted questions. It reported he wore a grey suit, a white unbuttoned shirt, a brown neckerchief, brown boots, and sunglasses, and that he stayed seated and showed little emotion while the panel was questioned. The BBC does not describe the car, the neckerchief, or the boots, and it does not give her surname. The Press Association does not call her only Laura.

What the judge told the panel is where the calendar splits. The BBC reported Mr Justice Bennathan told potential jurors, "Many of you will have heard of him," and that Brand had been on television "a great deal a couple of years ago." The Press Association reported he opened with, "We are about to start the trial of one Mr Russell Brand," and then, "Many of you will have heard of him." Both reported he told them that about three years ago a television programme and a long article in the Times made allegations of sexual misconduct against Brand, and that those were allegations he firmly denied. The BBC reported six people put their hands up when asked if they remembered a Channel 4 documentary or that Times article. The Press Association reported the judge then dismissed six members of the panel who said they remembered that coverage. The BBC reported the pool was cut to 20, that a smaller group would be chosen and sworn on Tuesday and then sent home, and that the judge said the trial should take about six weeks but that jurors might be needed until Dec. 11. The Press Association reported selection is expected to continue Tuesday, that prosecutors are expected to open the case Wednesday morning, and that jurors were told the trial should last about six weeks. It did not print Dec. 11, and it did not print a number for how many remained on Monday. The BBC reported he warned those selected not to research Brand. An instruction to a jury panel is a court order about their conduct. It is not a finding.

The BBC reported he denies all the charges and that there are six female complainants. The Press Association reported he denies the counts, that he pleaded not guilty at pre-trial hearings, and that he is on bail. The BBC's Monday story does not say bail and does not say when the not-guilty pleas were entered. Both reported he now lives in Florida. The complainants are not named here. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.