Video taking off 13x its usual first day

Urwin describes "extraordinary" evidence behind Russell Brand investigation

The Sunday Times reporter tells Times Radio how medical records, legal checks and the women's consent shaped the reporting.

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Times Radio Story of November 9, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 139,504 views a day, 13 times a normal first day on this channel (10,418).

One Of Russell Brand’s Victims Had An 'Extraordinary' Amount Of Evidence | Rosamund Urwin

Things we can learn from the video

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0:54Urwin says a judge rejected the defence's accusations of contempt and attempts to pervert justice by reporters.
3:40Newspaper investigations undergo strict legal checks before publication, Urwin explains.
4:05The evidence promised in the title includes a woman's clinic visit and therapy records.
5:12Urwin says journalists lacked the women's permission to approach police, and publication encouraged others to come forward.
6:17Urwin distinguishes the journalists' investigation from the jury's decision, saying the jury found Brand guilty.

A clinic visit the next day and therapy notes were among the records one woman brought to the journalists investigating Russell Brand, Rosamund Urwin tells Times Radio.

Urwin, who led The Sunday Times's four-year investigation, describes the woman as having "extraordinary amounts of evidence". Speaking to Rosie Wright and Calum Macdonald, she explains the work behind publishing the allegations, including the legal scrutiny that investigative reporting must undergo.

The interview has drawn more than 125,000 views in 19 hours, far above the channel's usual first-day audience for a regular video. But its central question is about the reporting itself: what journalists could establish, and what they had permission to do.

Asked why the journalists did not first approach police, Urwin gives a direct answer: "We didn't have the women's permission to go to the police." She says publication encouraged other women to come forward.

Urwin also discusses the defence's unsuccessful pre-trial challenge, saying a judge rejected accusations that reporters had committed contempt of court and tried to pervert justice. She describes avoiding contempt as a constant concern in her work.

On the courtroom outcome, she draws a distinction between the newspaper's investigation and the jury's responsibility: "the jury decided Russell Brand was guilty. We didn't." The interview returns to why women might choose to speak to journalists before approaching police, with Wright recalling an earlier discussion of that question with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.

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