'I saw Russell Brand hold prayer book in court — before he and his faith faced stinging evidence'

It seemed Russell Brand knew he was in for a tough day from the start. The former TV funnyman arrived at Southwark Crown Court, without his wife Laura Gallacher, and carrying a copy of a book called 'Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks'. And around forty five minutes later he stood in the dock of Court Three and performed the sign of the cross over himself as the judge entered the room. Brand has made no secret of his faith in a higher power, but even he must be wondering if it will be able to help him through the coming weeks. He showed no emotion as the jury were shown an emotional hour-long video interview with his first alleged victim before later listening to her give at times angry testimony from behind a screen inside the court. The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, alleged Brand, once one of Britain's most popular comedians, transformed from a charming effeminate into a monster-like figure who raped her on her hotel room bed in September 1999, before he was famous. During stinging evidence, she also compared Brand to a lizard and ranted that she never found him attractive and was in fact disgusted by his body, which she even compared to a snake. If Brand, once considered a highly-successful lothario, was hurt by the humiliating public descriptions he did not show it. However, his lawyer Ian Winter KC seemed to be struggling to win a battle of ideas against the complainant, who repeatedly and strongly hit back at his claims she had been charmed by his charismatic client and happily agreed to a one night stand At one stage Mr Winter was even told to shush by the judge who appeared to lose patience with his style of questioning.