Fearne Cotton deletes Russell Brand podcast episodes after unfollowing him on Instagram

Fearne Cotton has appeared to delete two episodes of her podcast featuring Russell Brand.

The comedian, who faces accusations of sexual assault and rape, is married to Cotton’s good friend, Laura Gallacher, and, in August 2019, he was a guest speaker at her wellness festival Happy Place. In a Facebook post, Brand described the festival as the “Woodstock of Wellness”.

One year later, Cotton invited Brand to appear on her podcast, also titled Happy Place, for a second time. He had previously made a brief guest appearance after it was launched in 2018. Both episodes, as highlighted by Metro.co.uk, appear to have been removed and no longer appear on the podcast’s official pages.

A synopsis of Brand’s second appearance on the podcast, which occurred during lockdown, states: “Back by popular demand, Fearne dials up Russell Brand to hear how the comedian and writer has approached the sudden change in all our lives – this is one chat that will leave you feeling more positive about the future…”

Another reads: “From his many addictions through to his very public recovery, Russell Brand has some things to say about the way we live our lives. In this episode, Fearne travels to his home to discuss childhood, his path to recovery and the tools we need to find our own happy place.”

It was also noted that Cotton, who reportedly still followed Brand on Instagram as the allegations against him surfaced on Saturday (16 September), has since unfollowed him.

The Independent has contacted Cotton for comment.

This development comes after a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches revealed that four women have made allegations of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse against Brand.

It is alleged that the assaults took place between 2006 and 2013 when the comedian was a presenter for both BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4. Brand has denied all accusations and says all of his relationships have been consensual.

Since the Dispatches documentary aired, the BBC and Channel 4 launched internal investigations into the allegations levelled at Brand.

Shows with appearances from Brand, including Big Brother’s Big Mouth and The Great British Bake Off, have been removed from Channel 4’s website.

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The BBC has also removed footage of Brand, while YouTube has suspended adverts on his videos, meaning that he cannot make money from the site. He is still able to post videos to the platform.

It’s also been reported that the Metropolitan Police Service are planning on making further inquiries with Brand’s alleged victims, which will see them speak with BBC and Channel 4 about the allegations.

A spokesperson said: “We will be making further approaches to The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police.”

Find live updates on the Brand allegations here.