Russell Brand has spent his first night in custody after admitting on camera just days earlier that he was frightened by the prospect of going to prison.
The disgraced comedian and former Hollywood actor is being held in a south London jail after being convicted of raping a woman and carrying out three other sexual assaults.
Brand, 51, was reportedly “petrified” after being taken to a high-security prison, where he underwent a medical examination and strip search before being locked in a cell ahead of his sentencing on Monday.
Once the steel door closed behind him, Brand faced a night on a hard bed inside a cramped cell in the stark Victorian jail. His tailored suit and silk cravat would have been removed and replaced with a grey prison tracksuit.
The following morning, breakfast in his 9.8ft by 6.7ft cell consisted of cereal or porridge, fruit and a cup of tea.
Because of both his celebrity status and his conviction for sexual offences, prison officials are also acutely conscious that he could become a target for violence behind bars.
The father of three appeared visibly shaken as the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence hung over his trial, the Daily Mail can reveal.
His wife, Laura Gallacher, left Southwark Crown Court in tears yesterday. She later read him a message from a supporter who said God would be with him in prison and that he would “get through it”.
Brand, who said he entered court each day wearing the “full armour of God”, interrupted her during an episode of their Sunday Service programme recorded on October 11, the day before jury selection, to admit that he was scared.
Tapping Laura on the shoulder, he said: “I don’t like things where it’s like you might have to go to prison.”
She replied sympathetically: “Yeah, I know, but that is just the nature of what a trial is.”
Russell Brand told his wife he disliked the thought of prison in a podcast recorded at the beginning of his trial. Laura replied that the possibility of jail was part of being on trial
Russell Brand spent his first night behind bars after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. He was strip-searched and medically assessed after arriving at the prison
Photographers crowded around Brand as he was taken from court in a prison van to the jail where he is being held on remand before his sentencing on Monday
Brand was permitted one phone call, believed to have been made to his wife Laura Gallacher, who stood by him during almost every day of his trial
Several months earlier, Piers Morgan had asked Brand whether he had considered the “reality” that he could end up in prison.
Brand replied: “I will be with God wherever I am.”
That prospect became reality yesterday, when Brand spent his first night in custody after being found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others in offences prosecutors said were driven by his “voracious” and violent lust.
He arrived at the prison at about 6pm, where he was strip-searched and given a medical assessment. Officers also asked him to disclose any medication he was taking.
Brand was once a flamboyant, anarchic entertainer who went on to appear in Hollywood films and marry one of the world’s best-known pop stars.
That background makes his sudden confinement in a cold, tiny cell — with his future governed by strict institutional rules — particularly difficult to imagine.
Because the first 24 hours in custody can carry an increased risk of acute emotional distress or self-harm, staff carried out risk assessments as they do with all new prisoners.
Brand is also believed to have undergone body scans, while his fingerprints and mugshots were taken before his cash and personal belongings were removed.
The extravagant clothing he wore throughout his trial at Southwark Crown Court, including his distinctive silk cravat, was taken from him and replaced with a grey prison-issue tracksuit.
One personal item Brand, who is due to be sentenced on Monday, was reportedly allowed to keep was his Bible. As a Christian convert, his time in custody may give him ample opportunity to reflect on passages from the text that had previously eluded him.
After being processed, Brand was placed in a holding cell with other new arrivals while a cell in the prison’s induction wing was prepared.
Because he arrived after the evening meal had been served, Brand — previously a vegan and vegetarian — was given a simple packed-lunch-style dinner.
He also received a “first-night pack” containing toiletries such as a toothbrush and toothpaste, along with cereal, tea, milk and sugar.
The pack included treats such as Polos, juice sticks and digestive biscuits.
Brand was also given a single toilet roll, two pairs of prison jogging bottoms, T-shirts, sweatshirts and underwear.
He was allowed one three-minute phone call from prison, believed to have been made to his wife, Laura, 39, who supported him throughout the Southwark Crown Court trial.
However, that is expected to be his only call for a week because all telephone numbers must first be approved and linked to a personal identification number.
Brand, who is understood to have been taken to either Wandsworth or Belmarsh in London, was monitored around the clock and prevented from mixing with other prisoners.
With prison facilities operating according to strict timetables, his cell door was locked soon after he had settled in.
Staff carried out regular checks throughout the night in accordance with standard prison procedures.
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The fallen star’s new surroundings are stark: a flimsy mattress on a fixed concrete slab, a stainless-steel toilet and wash basin, and a table and stool bolted to the floor.
The setting is a world away from his former home, a £6million, six-bedroom riverside mansion in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
Separated from his wife and three children, Brand’s only immediate companion was his unidentified cellmate — an experience that could be deeply disorientating, if not frightening.
Former prisoners have described how losing their freedom for the first time left them distressed and confused.
Brand was interviewed by detectives in July last year, when allegations of rape and sexual assault were put to him
The volunteer-run Doing Time website describes the experience in these terms: “The first night tends to pass very slowly, as it has for countless prisoners before you.
“Every horror story you’ve ever heard about prison will probably run through your head, and if you’ve seen The Shawshank Redemption, you’ll be bracing for the worst.
“It would be dishonest to pretend there’s no violence or conflict in prison — there is, and not all of it makes the news.”
Following his four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, Brand, who had previously been on bail, appeared unprepared for what lay ahead. He reportedly arrived without an overnight bag, which he would normally have been advised to bring.
As the jury delivered its verdicts, Brand — accused of groping women and forcing them into sexual acts during a 10-year period from 1999 to 2009 — stood upright in the dock.
He closed his eyes but displayed little other emotion as he was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was cleared of two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Security staff escorted the celebrity from the dock in Courtroom Three to a holding cell below the court, while his wife, Laura Gallacher, wept in the public gallery.
His legal team asked for him to be allowed to say goodbye to Laura and their three children before being taken into custody, but the request was refused.
He was later given the opportunity to make a short call home to ensure that arrangements for his family were in place.
Brand will remain in the current prison until Monday morning, when he will return to court to be sentenced. He has already been warned that he faces a lengthy custodial term.
Sources told the Daily Mail that Brand’s lawyers are considering all available options and may seek to appeal on the basis that he did not receive a fair trial.
The star is said to have spent £5,000,000 on legal representatives and is reportedly waiting to hear his sentence before deciding how to proceed.
His lawyers are also believed to be considering asking prison authorities to transfer him to a facility such as HMP Huntercombe, where tennis champion Boris Becker served time.
The prison is near Brand’s home, although Huntercombe is reserved exclusively for adult male foreign national offenders.
Brand’s imprisonment began in the depths of the court building, where he spent two hours before being collected by HM Prison Service guards and escorted to a secure van through a side gate.
He kept his head bowed in an apparent attempt to avoid being photographed through the van window by the waiting photographers.
After arriving at the prison, Brand was taken to reception and formally processed. His identity was verified, security checks were completed and the small amount of personal property he had with him was removed and recorded.
His grey-and-black pinstripe suit, waistcoat and high-heeled cowboy-style boots were placed in storage, while he was issued with the drab prison tracksuit.
His physical and mental health assessment would have included checks for substance misuse, as well as screening for suicide and self-harm risks, before he was moved to the prison’s segregation wing.
During the trial, Brand and Laura continued to co-host a home-recorded video blog and podcast called Sunday Service with Laura. The programme frequently featured discussions of their Christian faith, Bible readings and joint prayers.
Brand has now lost access to social media, while mobile phones and laptops are classed as contraband. The crucifix he wore around his neck and the rosary beads he held for comfort would also have been removed to reduce the risk of self-harm.
Brand was convicted of raping a 21-year-old fan after meeting her at a stand-up performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009.
He was also found guilty of groping an MTV worker at a Soho bar party in 2004, but was acquitted of orally raping her in a toilet.
Jurors convicted Brand of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker after meeting her in a corridor in 2005, and of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker during a forced massage in 2009.
Brand is understood to have been taken to either Wandsworth, pictured above, or Belmarsh prison
He was cleared of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show on the fringes of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. He was also found not guilty of attempting to drag an MTV worker into a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001.
The judge, Mr Justice Bentham, told him: “You’ve been convicted of a number of offences including rape. The consequence of that is inevitably a significant custodial term.”
Rape convictions can carry a life sentence, while standard maximum determinate sentences can reach 19 years, depending on the seriousness of the offence and sentencing guidelines.
Sexual assault convictions carry a maximum sentence of 10 years for each count.
Even before his sentence is handed down, Brand’s hours spent looking at four walls will give him plenty of time to consider how far his once lavish lifestyle has already receded into the past.