Russell Brand is facing further accusations as more women come forward with allegations of how he treated them, it has emerged.
On Saturday, the actor and comedian, 48, was accused of rape, sexual assault and physical abuse, in a Channel 4 special episode of Dispatches airing in a joint investigation with The Times.
Brand has insisted his relationships have all been consensual and denied the allegations.
Since The Times published its bombshell investigation on Saturday, the outlet has been contacted by ‘several women’.
It reports the claims have been about ‘Brand’s behaviour since the early 2000s’.
The new allegations are yet to be investigated but will be ‘rigorously checked’.
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Brand has been accused by multiple women, including one who claimed she was 16 years old at the time.
He has also been accused of pursuing audience members for sex while presenting Big Brother spin-off shows EFourum and Big Brother’s Big Mouth on Channel 4, while other allegations relate to when he was a radio presenter for the BBC.
Since reports first broke, the BBC and Channel 4 have launched investigations, while a women’s charity has cut ties with the actor.
Brand worked for the BBC between 2006 and 2008, until he stepped down after a controversial prank call to Andrew Sachs, later dubbed Sachsgate.
The investigation in The Times claims Brand’s behaviour towards women was an ‘open secret’, noting: ‘Many felt the BBC should have been awake to the concerns about Brand’s on-air behaviour well before the Sachsgate scandal.’
In a new statement, a BBC spokesman said: ‘The documentary and associated reports contained serious allegations, spanning a number of years.
‘Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently looking into the issues raised.’
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police force has encouraged anyone who ‘believes they have been the victim’ of sexual assault following the accusations against Brand to come forward.
The force has said it will speak to the Sunday Times and Channel 4 after their investigation about Brand.
They said in a statement: ‘We are aware of media reporting of a series of allegations of sexual assault.
‘At this time, we have not received any reports in relation to this.
‘If anyone believes they have been the victim of a sexual assault, no matter how long ago it happened, we would encourage them to contact police.
‘We spoke with the Sunday Times on Saturday, September 16. We will be making further approaches to the Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police.’
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