Actress Georgina Baillie, a former partner of Russell Brand, has called on him to “tell the truth” and acknowledged that she was wrong to place her trust in him.
Baillie’s relationship with Brand made headlines in 2008 after the comedian and television presenter Jonathan Ross left obscene messages for her grandfather, Andrew Sachs, who played Manuel in the hit 1970s sitcom Fawlty Towers.
The incident, later dubbed “Sachsgate”, involved the pair making a prank call to the late actor on BBC Radio 2. In a voicemail that was broadcast to listeners, Ross said: “He f***** your granddaughter,” triggering widespread outrage, including criticism from then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Despite the scandal, Baillie, 41, has credited Brand with “saving my life” by paying for her rehabilitation in 2018. She said she had continued to hold him “on a pedestal” in her memory.
When allegations against Brand, 51, first emerged three years ago, Baillie said she did not believe he was a rapist.
However, after Brand was found guilty on Thursday of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others, Baillie said he must acknowledge his actions and “admit his mistakes”. Brand did not admit any of the charges during the month-long trial.
Baillie told 5 News: “The most important thing is to admit your mistakes and correct them as much as you can.
“Now, if they’ve proven that he’s done these things… that’s what needs to happen. He needs to make amends.”
Georgina Baillie, Brand’s former partner, said he must acknowledge what happened to his victims
In 2008, Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left a shocking message on Andrew Sachs’s answering machine about Brand having sex with his granddaughter before it was broadcast to millions of radio listeners
Baillie said Russell Brand paid for her rehabilitation as an attempt to make amends for the “Sachsgate” scandal; the pair are pictured together in 2008
The jury acquitted Brand of two additional rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. He had denied all the allegations.
Baillie was involved in an on-off relationship with Brand during the early 2000s.
She agreed to provide a statement requested by his legal team in support of his defence.
Allegations of sexual misconduct against Brand were first reported in 2023 by Channel 4’s Dispatches, The Times and The Sunday Times following a joint investigation.
The reports detailed allegations of rape and sexual assault made by several women in incidents said to have taken place between 2006 and 2013. The women whose evidence was heard during Brand’s trial came forward after seeing the investigation.
Recalling her reaction when the allegations were first reported, Baillie said: “I just found it really, really tricky to associate him with any form of aggression towards a girl, because he worshipped girls.
“Any woman who has been abused in any way deserves to be listened to… He really ought to do the right thing, which is, as an addict in recovery, make your amends.”
Baillie has previously spoken publicly about surviving sexual abuse. She has also described her struggles with drug and alcohol addiction.
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Russell Brand, 51, pictured outside Southwark Crown Court with his wife Laura Gallacher, faces the prospect of prison after being convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others
Brand stands as he listens to Mr Justice Bennathan at Southwark Crown Court in London after being found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults
She said she believed she would be “dead” if Brand had not paid for her rehabilitation in 2018.
Struggling to reconcile the man described in court with the person she believed she knew, Baillie said: “It’s really hard to let go of the need for someone to remain on that pedestal in your memory.
“Because he saved my life. I’ll be honest, if I hadn’t gone to rehab, I’d probably be dead. So I owe my life to him for that.
Hi, I’m Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
Russell Brand has been convicted of rape and three sexual assaults, while our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull were in court throughout the trial. They spoke to Detective Inspector Laura Nelson, who explained why the women who accused Brand in the documentary did not take part in his rape trial.
“But the most important thing is to admit your mistakes and correct them as much as you can.”
“I’m really sad that he’s been found guilty because I genuinely thought I had a better judge of character than this.
“But I’m open-minded enough to accept that I can be wrong. I’m okay with being wrong.
“I feel a great deal of sympathy for the accusers and victims if the allegations have been proven. I really hope they are able to find some healing.”
Russell Brand faces years in prison after being convicted on Thursday of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others, offences prosecutors said were driven by his “voracious” and violent sexual appetite.
The comedian and actor closed his eyes as he was convicted of raping a 21-year-old fan he had selected from the crowd after one of his performances at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009.
Brand, who was 33 at the time, pushed the woman face down into a pillow on his “enormous” bed and removed his condom while raping her at his £2.3 million home in Hampstead, leaving her struggling to breathe.
She suffered anal bleeding and later said Brand told her to “clean up the mess you’ve made” before turning on the television to watch the science-fiction series Quantum Leap.
The woman attempted to clean herself up before a member of staff escorted her from the property. A driver gave her tissues while taking her home. Fearing she might have contracted HIV, she underwent testing, but the results were negative.
It can now be revealed that Brand has also faced accusations from two other women, including a 16-year-old schoolgirl, with the Crown Prosecution Service seeking to bring further charges.
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