Laura Gallacher took the witness stand at Southwark Crown Court in London on Thursday, October 29, 2026, and described her husband Russell Brand as an “amazing husband” and a “wonderful father”. Her testimony came one day after Brand, 51, gave evidence in his own defence at his r*pe and sexual assault trial. Gallacher, 39, appeared as a character witness for the defence, not as a witness to the alleged offences. The comedian denies all seven charges against him.
Trigger warning: This article discusses allegations of sexual assault and r*pe. Reader discretion is advised.
The Charges Brand Is Facing
Brand faces three counts of r*pe, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault. The charges involve six women and relate to alleged offences between 1999 and 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to every charge.
The trial began at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, October 12, 2026, before Mr Justice Bennathan. Opening the case for the prosecution on October 14, Riel Karmy-Jones KC told jurors that Brand behaved as a “ruthless” sexual predator over a decade. She said the alleged assaults took place in “a hotel room, workplaces, a toilet cubicle in a bar and at his home address”. The prosecutor described Brand as “ruthless”, “calculating” and “manipulative”.
The six complainants do not know each other. Under UK law, anyone who makes a sexual assault accusation has automatic lifelong anonymity, so none of the women can be named. The alleged offences include a rpe in a Bournemouth hotel room during the 1999 Labour Party conference, an oral rpe in a London bar in 2004, and an anal r*pe at Brand’s home in 2009.
Gallacher Describes the Man She Married
Questioned by defence barrister Ian Winter KC, Gallacher gave a detailed description of her husband’s character. She told the jury:
“Russell, my husband, is caring, he is kind, he is a wonderful father to our children. He is an amazingly attentive husband. He has got an eye for detail I’ve never known before. The way he treats me is to really know me, I feel very seen by him in every way. I love him very much.”
She also described the couple’s marriage as built on honesty:
“We have a very honest, frank and clear relationship and marriage. It is one of the most important parts of our marriage, and our relationship has always been honest.”
Asked whether Brand respected her when she did not want to be sexual with him, Gallacher answered: “Yes, absolutely.” She said she felt “entirely cared for and looked after” by Brand when they first began dating.
How the Couple Met and Split
Gallacher, the daughter of former golfer Bernard Gallacher and sister of TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher, first met Brand at the Edinburgh Festival in the summer of 2006. She was 19 and he was 31. Her sister had arranged tickets for one of Brand’s shows.
She recalled approaching him in the foyer afterwards to thank him for the tickets. Brand first asked her friend, whom Gallacher described as “very beautiful”, whether she had a boyfriend. When the friend said yes, Brand turned to Gallacher and asked if she had a boyfriend. She said no.
The pair began texting and soon started a relationship. Gallacher told the court they had oral sex on their first meeting but not full sex. The relationship “developed at my own pace”, she said. She described herself as “inexperienced” and said she had only one sexual partner before Brand.
The relationship did not last. Gallacher said she became aware during the latter half of 2006 that Brand was sleeping with other women.
“I was not interested in having a relationship with him if he was sleeping with other people. I was invested, we both had told each other we loved each other, but it was clear it was difficult for him to be monogamous.”
They split in February 2007. Gallacher admitted she was “a little heartbroken”. Brand went on to marry pop star Katy Perry in 2010. Gallacher told the court she “had not seen him during the marriage”, which ended in 2012. The couple stayed in contact and reconnected in 2014 or 2015, depending on how the timeline is counted in different reports. They married in 2017 and share three children.
Asked whether she was aware of Brand’s promiscuity during their time apart, Gallacher said:
“I was very aware of it. I could read about it regularly in the papers, so I was aware of it and he also told me.”
The Judge Steps In During Questioning
Gallacher’s evidence was briefly interrupted when Ian Winter KC asked her for her view on “the truth of the allegations”. Lead prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC immediately objected, saying “No, no, no”. Mr Justice Bennathan pointed out that Gallacher is not an expert witness and stopped that line of questioning.
The jury and Gallacher were briefly ushered out of the courtroom while the lawyers and the judge discussed the issue. After a short break, Winter continued by asking Gallacher for her “view of his character”, which produced the “amazing husband” testimony. Express reported that security followed Brand’s wife out of the courtroom during the pause.
Prosecution Questions the Timeline
Under cross-examination, Riel Karmy-Jones KC raised a discrepancy in Gallacher’s account of how close the couple stayed during their years apart. The prosecutor pointed to a 2020 appearance on the podcast Made By Mammas, in which Gallacher said she had not seen Brand “for years” before they met up again.
Gallacher said they had stayed in touch during that period but had not met in person until around 2014 or 2015. When the prosecutor suggested the pair had not “hung out lots” between 2007 and 2015, Gallacher replied: “I have to say you are wrong.”
The prosecutor also asked Gallacher about comments Brand made on an American talk show, in which he said he had been in a phase where he thought the world was “an amusement park made of orgasms”. Gallacher said it was unlikely she watched the show.
Brand’s Own Testimony a Day Earlier
Brand took the witness box on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, and gave evidence for more than four hours. He denied every charge, telling the jury: “I’m innocent.” He answered “no” loudly to each count as his defence lawyer read them out.
Brand admitted that some of his past behaviour was wrong. He told the court he had been “comfortable” allowing fame to “facilitate sexual access”, which he agreed was wrong. He described his past approach to women as:
“I’ve been persuasive, seductive, begging and flirting, and dedicated a lot of my life to what seems now beyond reckless philandering and idiocy.”
He also told the jury that sexual consent is “fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed in many ways more important than sex itself”. Under cross-examination, he accepted there were inconsistencies between his police statement and his court evidence, saying his recollection had escalated because the allegations had been “deeply traumatic”.
Brand said the allegations had a “devastating” impact on his life. He told the court that no friend or acquaintance with relevant evidence had agreed to testify on his behalf. When his lawyer asked whether people would touch him “with a bargepole”, Brand replied: “No.”
Two Ex-Girlfriends Also Gave Evidence
The court also heard statements from two of Brand’s former girlfriends. Elia Alvarez Diaz, a ballet dancer who dated Brand for about a year from 1998 to 1999, described him as “gentle” and “loving”. She also called him “highly persuasive”.
A second former girlfriend’s statement was read to the jury. These statements formed part of the defence case, which aims to show that Brand was capable of caring relationships.
What Happens After the Testimony
Gallacher’s appearance as a character witness does not decide whether the alleged offences happened. The jury must weigh all the evidence presented over the weeks-long trial before reaching a verdict.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations as early as Tuesday, November 3, 2026, according to Variety and other reports from the courthouse. The timing could change depending on how the remaining proceedings run. The trial was originally scheduled to last up to 10 weeks, which would put a verdict in December 2026 at the latest.
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Brand has been accompanied by Gallacher at most hearings since the trial began. He was seen smiling and laughing at points during her evidence, and appeared to mouth words towards her when she spoke about his baptism in 2024, after the allegations became public.
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