Russell Brand arrives at court for rape trial as ex-comedian prepares to take the stand for first time

Russell Brand arrives at court for rape trial as ex-comedian prepares to take the stand for first time Former comedian Brand will make another appearance at Southwark Crown Court today, where he will be speaking for the first time in his defence as he answers serious accusations Russell Brand’s former personal assistant told a court she saw him mistreating women and eventually left the comedian’s employment because she became sick of him. Helen Berger worked closely with Brand from June 2006 to February 2007, when he was a star of MTV, Channel 4 and the BBC, as well as performing his stand-up comedy to sell-out crowds. She said Brand, now 51, would find random women online to satisfy what she called his insane sexual appetite, but that sex often left him depressed. Ms Berger told the court, where Brand is being tried on rape and sexual assault charges: “Though I’ve worked with a lot of celebrities and seen a lot of people normalising bad behaviour, this was on another level.” She added: “Normalising and dismissing Russell’s behaviour made me think: ‘This is just the way it is here’.” And she recalled the comedian “getting antsy” when they were on deadlines, joking: “May I go and have sex now?” Ms Berger said Brand once conducted an interview with an actress while barely dressed. She said: “He did the whole interview in his underwear, no shirt, and an open robe.” She also recalled: “When I went to Russell’s flat, he was always in his underwear. He loved walking around in his underwear with no shirt on.” The court heard Ms Berger worked for Brand through his agent, John Noel, and would often be called on to go to his flat in Camden, North London. She said: “I worked a lot and was exhausted, emotional, and it was a lot to deal with. I always had to manage my emotions around him." "He had an insane sexual appetite and was sleeping with people day and night.He was very open about what his needs were, we didn’t have a specific conversation about it.” Ms Berger said part of her job was to review Brand’s press coverage, including interviews in which he had spoken openly to journalists about his sexual encounters and desires. But she said: “He never seemed happy after sex, more so depressed.” Ms Berger told the court Brand used social media website MySpace to find sexual partners, and said: “Women often came over, and it was clear they were there for sex.” She said she was instructed to get phone numbers for Brand from female fans when she first started working with him. But she said she later felt uncomfortable about this and, after seeking advice, told Brand she would not perform the service any more. Ms Berger also recalled seeing Brand dismiss a woman he was chatting to at a party as soon as he realised she was in a relationship. She said: “He turned in a way that really startled me. “He literally switched off his charm and moved on to the next woman.” Ending her statement, Ms Berger said she quit the job after nine months when she was sick of Brand. Accused of three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault, he denies all the charges. Judge Mr Justice Bennathan told jurors yesterday the prosecution case had nearly finished, and that the defence will begin when the Southwark crown court trial continues today.