Noel Fielding: Me and Russell Brand were never friends
Noel Fielding: Me and Russell Brand were never friends
Timothy SigsworthSat, November 14, 2026 at 7:21 AM UTC
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Russell Brand and Noel Fielding at a Teenage Cancer Trust event in 2007 - Getty/Jo Hale
Noel Fielding has insisted he was never friends with convicted rapist Russell Brand.
The Great British Bake Off presenter, 53, claimed he only ever had a “professional” relationship with the fellow comedian.
Fielding distanced himself from Brand on Friday after distasteful jokes the pair made together in the early 2000s re-emerged following Brand’s imprisonment for rape.
Brand, 51, was sentenced to more than a decade in prison on Monday after being found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Fielding has said he was “deeply disturbed” by the crimes and insisted he had not been in contact with him “for many years”. He has never been accused of misconduct and there is no suggestion he knew about Brand’s behaviour.
‘We played it up for the cameras’
Fielding told The Sun: “I was horrified and deeply disturbed to learn of Russell Brand’s crimes, which I was completely unaware of until they became public knowledge. My thoughts are with the women whose courage brought him to justice.
“I appeared on TV, radio and live charity shows with him, and whilst we played it up for the cameras and in the media, I considered it a professional relationship, rather than a personal one. I have had no contact with him for many years.”
Tasteless jokes the pair made together have resurfaced following Brand’s sentencing.
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In a 2007 episode of Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year, Fielding, referring to his outfit, said: “It’s a Jack the Ripper cape. He wasn’t a rapist, he was just...”
Brand interjected, saying: “A serial murderer. There is no direct corollary between capes and rape. It’s just a rhyme. Leave him alone. What if, horror of horrors, he ain’t even done a rape. You could ruin his reputation. Have you done a rape?”
Fielding said on Friday: “Looking back at some of the jokes I made alongside him I was appalled. They were horrible and inappropriate, and I very much regret them.”
His comments came days after Jonathan Ross, the television presenter, who also appeared on the Big Fat Quiz of the Year, said he had been “unaware” of Brand’s crimes. He said on Tuesday: “My thoughts are with the many, many women who have bravely come forward.”
It has emerged that Brand has been accused of sexual misconduct by six more women. The new allegations could not be reported during the former actor and comedian’s trial.
Among the new allegations, published by The Times, are that Brand had sex with a woman without her consent, then apologised, and that he continued having sex with another woman after she had asked him to stop because she was in pain.
The Met Police said several people had been in contact during and since the conclusion of the trial. The force said those who had been in contact had either provided further information or reported potential criminal allegations. Detectives were assessing the information, it added.
After Brand’s conviction, Sir Mark Rowley, the head of the Met, said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if more victims came forward.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
