Georgina Baillie, Andrew Sachs’s granddaughter, has backed Russell Brand in a character reference statement to the judge which has been released after he was jailed
Russell Brand was hailed by Andrew Sachs’s granddaughter as “someone who understood and respected boundaries” as he was about to be jailed for rape and sexual assault, it can be revealed.
Georgina Baillie penned a glowing character reference for Brand which was presented to Mr Justice Bennathan at his sentencing hearing on Monday.
In the letter, obtained by PA, she called the comedian an “unabashed womaniser” as well as “always lovely” and someone she trusted to tell the truth.
She told the judge that she and Brand met in 2006, they had around 12 “casual sexual encounters” over the course of a year, and she wrote: “Russell never behaved aggressively, coercively or without regard to my wishes.
“In my experience, he was someone who understood and respected boundaries.” Brand told his trial that his celebrity friends and former colleagues had distanced themselves from him after he was first accused of sexual offences in 2023.
A jury found him guilty of four offences dating from 2004 to 2009, after hearing from women who said they were subjected to sexual contact with Brand without their consent.
Ms Baillie, an artist and art therapist, is the granddaughter of the late Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, and she was at the centre of the 2008 Sachsgate scandal which led to Brand being sacked from his BBC Radio 2 show.
Brand, with Jonathan Ross, rang Mr Sachs and left him four voicemails with details of his sexual relationship with Ms Baillie, in an incident that was subsequently aired on Brand’s radio show. Ms Baillie told the court Brand had left her a voicemail after the incident “suggesting I go to my grandfather’s house to delete the message”.
She complained in her statement of being “vilified in the press and cast as some sort of immoral witch” after the scandal broke, and told the judge Brand had later paid for her to go to rehab as she battled alcohol addiction. “Everything between us was consensual and Russell never asked me to do anything I did not want to do,” she wrote, of their relationship.
“I was a somewhat wild and free young woman at that time, and I was to some degree in awe of his fame and lifestyle. I was never forced or coerced into anything.”
She said she “grew fond” of Brand and called him a “genuinely nice person to me”. “He was very quick-witted and could talk or argue with his own shadow, but could also be thoughtful, reserved and contemplative,” she added.
“Like many funny people, he could be very quiet at first but would throw in a joke and have people rolling about laughing. He was intelligent and eloquent, though he could also be immature and he had a large ego.
“In the world that he occupied, it was impossible to succeed without a bucket-loads of self-belief and drive. He was very talented and that talent brought him fame, fortune and success.
“He was not everybody’s cup of tea, his comedy was often cutting, shocking or crass but for me he was exceptional and he was widely adored. At height of his fame, Russell’s public reputation was as an unabashed womaniser and he was in many ways deified for it.
“My friends and I adored him and were excited and intrigued by him. He was different.
“And in return to me and my friends, he was always lovely. I never knew Russell to be dishonest in his dealings with me.
“I regarded him as truthful and reliable and I still do Russell never behaved aggressively, coercively or without regard to my wishes. In my experience, he was someone who understood and respected boundaries.”
Concluding her statement, Ms Baillie referenced the Sachsgate scandal and said: “I have perhaps just as good a reason as anyone not to support Russell, but I still choose to support him because of the person I know him to be.” Brand was sentenced on Monday to 10-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted at trial of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
A jury found him guilty of forcing a 21-year-old fan into anal sex when he was at the height of his fame, groping and kissing a radio station worker, grabbing the breasts of a woman in a bar, and putting his head in the lap of a Channel 4 worker when she had been forced to give him a massage.
Passing sentence, the judge called Brand “staggeringly arrogant”, and said that he had sexually assaulted women while believing that his fame and status would allow him to get away with it.
The Metropolitan Police has said it has received more complaints about Brand since the trial began, two allegations of rape were made before the trial, and the force is assessing with the CPS whether to bring further charges.
PA has also obtained the five other character references that Brand’s legal team relied on while arguing for a lighter sentence during Monday’s hearing.
The names of the people were redacted by Brand’s legal team prior to providing the documents. A friend of Brand said the former comedian has paid out around £400,000 to send at least 20 people through rehab for alcohol and substance addiction.
One of the people Brand helped into rehab told the judge: “I believe his intervention saved my life, and I never forget what he did for me.” Brand also received support from residents in the East End of London who he helped in 2014 when the New Era estate in Hackney was bought up by a private equity firm.
Campaigners took their fight to Downing Street and gained national media attention thanks to Brand, eventually staving off the threat of losing their homes. One of the residents, who had Brand to their home for family dinners, wrote in a letter to the judge: “I will always be grateful for the kindness, dedication and humanity Russell demonstrated towards us.
“He stood by us at a time when we were vulnerable and needed help, and I have never forgotten what he did.” Another, a mother-of-two, told the court she had become friends with Brand, and added: “I was never made to feel uncomfortable or sense anything other than respect and kindness.
“He’s a great listener and would often compliment us on how hard all worked on being working single mums and pulling together to help each other out.”
The judge approved the release of the character references, having read them all before he passed sentence. They all wrote that they knew about Brand’s crimes before deciding to support him.
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