Richard Osman unveils Russell Brand's true colours - 'He's a sleaze'

Richard Osman ripped into Russell Brand but admitted he never worked with him or met the comedian. Brand, 51, was convicted of rape and sexual assault following a four-week trial in which several anonymous women gave testimonials about their experiences with the disgraced star.

The former Pointless host, 55, revealed while he has never met Brand, he was put off by his "sex obsessed" persona which was presented to the public. Brand was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison on November 9, 2026, after being convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault at Southwark Crown Court.

Speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Osman said: "I’ve never worked with him, never met him; right from the beginning, I thought he was awful.

"I thought he was talentless, all of that, but that’s fine; none of that is illegal. But I’m not interested in working with him. I can’t think of any actual comedy producer who’d be particularly interested in working with him because there’s nothing there."

He went on: "The only thing that is there is himself. It’s not someone who can be collegiate. So, I definitely knew that about him," he said, adding that as he got more famous, "you’d certainly hear that he was a sleaze".

Richard said: "Again, not illegal, not nice. Again, not someone you would want to work with, not someone who I can think of anyone I know who particularly want to work with.

"But the guy’s a sleaze and the guy is sex obsessed and the guy runs around with a group of people who have that same aesthetic."

Although many of those close to Brand and are yet to speak out, Jonathan Ross is one of the first high-profile figures who was once close to both to share his response to this week’s events.

In a statement, he said: "I am as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation.

"There was a time in my life when I was on friendly terms with both men, and during that period I was genuinely unaware of their conduct."

See more of the stories you love from Daily Express and find us easily in Google by making us a Preferred Source. Free and easy-to-do, just click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings.