“THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING”: Russell Brand, David Walliams and the Dark Side of Britain’s 2000s Celebrity Party Scene Exposed
For years, the outrageous behaviour of Russell Brand and his celebrity circle was treated as little more than part of the entertainment industry’s wild party culture. Women were pursued, crude sexual jokes passed off as comedy, and powerful men appeared to operate with few consequences.
But showbiz journalist Katie Hind, who witnessed that world first-hand, says the reality was far uglier than the headlines suggested. Looking back at the 2000s, she describes a scene in which Brand was repeatedly seen pursuing women, their feelings seemingly dismissed, while the men around him enjoyed an atmosphere that rarely challenged their behaviour.
Russell Brand’s Brazen Behaviour in Front of the Cameras
One incident Hind recalls took place at the 2006 Loaded comedy awards at London’s Sketch nightclub. As Brand arrived, photographers captured him publicly peering down the low-cut white top of Abi Titmuss, the former nurse turned glamour model.
Later, he reportedly made a crude remark to her: “You like sex too. You are filthy, aren’t you?”
Brand was named the funniest man of 2006, but Hind says his behaviour around women was already a familiar sight on London’s party circuit. Dressed in black, with his shirt open and cowboy boots, he was regularly seen pursuing women at celebrity events.
One former associate described him as someone who “leched at girls for fun”.
Hind says she witnessed the pattern herself while working as a showbusiness gossip columnist, spending many nights at the same parties and clubs as Brand and his associates. At the time, his womanising was often presented in headlines as harmless celebrity mischief, earning him nicknames such as “Randy Russ” and “Lanky Lothario”.
With hindsight, she argues, those descriptions badly understated what was happening.
The Night Brand Flirted With Peaches Geldof Despite Her Father’s Fury
One of Hind’s most unsettling memories comes from the 2006 NME Awards, hosted by Brand at London’s Hammersmith Palais.
During the ceremony, Sir Bob Geldof publicly insulted the comedian amid rumours that Brand had been romantically linked to his daughter, Peaches, who had not yet turned 17.
Yet Hind says that after the show, she watched Brand continue flirting with Peaches.
Her age, she recalls, did not appear to deter him.
At another National Comedy Awards event, Hind and fellow journalists watched Brand follow Charlotte Church around the former ITV headquarters on London’s South Bank.
She also remembers seeing him at Mayfair’s Maddox Club after a Teenage Cancer Trust concert, where he was with Vivienne Westwood model Jordan. Their relationship did not last long. After Brand reportedly ended things, one of his associates described his treatment of her as “foul”, adding: “Girls’ feelings don’t matter to Russell.”
Noel Fielding, Jonathan Ross and the Culture Around Brand
Brand’s social circle included television presenter Jonathan Ross and comedian Noel Fielding. Hind recalls one particularly grim gathering at a basement flat in Camden, where she accompanied a journalist friend after Fielding invited them to a party.
Brand was there, focused on a woman in the corner, while other guests sat in a circle taking turns snorting cocaine.
Hind also recalls Fielding behaving unkindly towards her friend. She describes him as a familiar presence in Camden’s nightlife, where he frequented venues such as The Hawley Arms. Fielding had admitted taking various drugs, including cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine, magic mushrooms and pills.
Hind also recalls his friendship with Pixie Geldof, who was still at school at the time, and seeing the comedian with her on a shopping trip in Kensington.
Ross, meanwhile, was not a partygoer in quite the same way. But Hind says Brand and Fielding looked up to him as a leading figure in British comedy.
A resurfaced joke Ross made at the 2004 British Comedy Awards about David Walliams and 15-year-olds has since drawn renewed scrutiny. Ross later said the line had been supplied by the show’s scriptwriting team and that he believed it referred to Walliams publicly dating younger women, exaggerated for comic effect.
The 2007 Television Moment That Exposed Comedy’s Ugly Side
Hind points to another disturbing example from The Big Fat Quiz of the Year in 2007, featuring Ross, Brand, Fielding, Jimmy Carr, Rob Brydon, David Mitchell and singer Lily Allen, who was 21 at the time.
During the programme, Ross described Brand and Fielding as “two of the best-known c***smen in the business”. He then suggested swapping seats with Allen so she could sit closer to Brydon and Mitchell and “might go home with her dress still on”.
Fielding responded: “How dare you, we’re not rapists,” prompting laughter from the studio audience.
Carr then joked about Fielding wearing a cape, asking why he would need one if he was not a rapist. Fielding replied that it was a Jack the Ripper cape, before Brand joined in.
“There is no direct corollary between rapes and capes; it’s just a rhyme,” Brand said.
He continued: “What if, horror of horrors, he ain’t even done a rape? You could ruin his reputation.”
For Hind, the exchange captures the atmosphere of the time: sexual violence turned into punchlines, while women were expected to laugh along or risk being dismissed as humourless.
She recalls a female friend sending her the clip years later. Her response was blunt: “Sadly that was 2007 – stuff like that going on everywhere.”
Why the 2000s Became Such a Hostile Time for Women
Hind argues that the celebrity culture of the Noughties created the conditions for this behaviour to flourish.
The 1990s had celebrated a generation of women who appeared increasingly confident and independent, with figures such as Tracey Emin, Zoe Ball and Kate Moss shaping the cultural landscape. But by the following decade, the party atmosphere had taken on a harsher edge.
Big Brother created a stream of aspiring celebrities eager to enter the London nightlife scene. Gossip magazines and paparazzi photographs made being seen with a famous man seem like a prize. Meanwhile, celebrity appearances attracted generous budgets, and alcohol flowed freely at industry parties. Hind says cocaine was also widespread.
Some men, she suggests, interpreted women’s growing confidence as an invitation to treat them as sexual conquests. Brand’s remark to Titmuss that women of her generation were “filthy too” reflected an attitude that Hind believes was widespread.
Without camera phones, much of what happened behind nightclub doors left little immediate evidence. The same behaviour extended beyond comedy into television, music and professional football.
Hind’s Own Encounters With the Era’s Powerful Men
The journalist also describes experiences that made the culture feel deeply personal.
Her sister reminded her of an incident at Mayfair nightclub Funky Buddha in 2005, when a boyband star put his hand up her skirt. The experience left her deeply shocked, and she still talks about it.
Hind recalls another encounter at the Embassy club, where a former England footballer touched her leg and commented on her “nice, strong legs”. When he offered her a lift home and she said she could pay for her own taxi, he replied: “Your loss,” with a wink.
She also describes the pressure women faced when approached by famous men. According to Hind, some celebrities would ask friends whether a potential sexual partner was “safe” – meaning whether she could be trusted not to sell her story to the press.
Hind says England footballer John Terry was a frequent subject of tabloid coverage over his alleged womanising. She recalls meeting him at the Embassy and receiving a barrage of sexually explicit messages afterwards. She says other women experienced similar treatment.
She also describes seeing footballers ask friends to select women from nightclubs and bring them over to Chinawhite, where glamour models and Page 3 girls were among the regular guests.
A Near Miss in Marbella
One of Hind’s most frightening memories came during a trip to Marbella in 2005.
After a pool party, a well-known Premier League footballer invited her to his hotel room for a drink. But two of his friends appeared afterwards.
Hind says she immediately left, later describing herself as extremely lucky to have escaped the situation.
She also refers to reports of a disturbing sexual practice known as “roasting” within some football circles.
Will the Industry Finally Change?
Hind’s account paints a picture of an entertainment world where celebrity status, access to powerful social circles and a permissive party culture could leave women exposed to behaviour they found intimidating or degrading.
The criminal convictions of Russell Brand have brought renewed scrutiny to the industry and the people who once worked alongside him. But Hind’s wider argument goes beyond one man: the culture that allowed such behaviour to be laughed off, overlooked or treated as part of the showbusiness lifestyle also deserves examination.
Her hope is that Brand’s downfall will make women safer in entertainment – and that more men will be willing to challenge misconduct rather than remain silent.