Ryan: I wrestled with role alongside dangerous comic

Katherine Ryan has opened up about why she called a comedian, reported to be Russell Brand, a “sexual predator” during yesterday’s Desert Island Discs.

- ISOBEL LEWIS

In September, Brand, 48, was accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse by four women as part of a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times, and Channel 4’s Dispatches. He has strongly denied all allegations, stating that all of his sexual relationships were consensual.

In 2022, Canadian comic Ryan told Louis Theroux about an incident in which she called out a male co-star on a TV set for alleged sexual abuse. According to reports, Ryan left Brand furious when she called him a “sexual predator” while filming Comedy Central’s Roast Battle.

Yesterday, Ryan was the guest on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, when she was asked about the interview with Theroux where she first made the allegations known.

“I got a lot of pushback, like, ‘Why won’t you say who it is?’” recalled Ryan, who once again did not name Brand. “It’s because everyone knows who it is. What they’re asking me for is the women’s names. And that’s what I won’t give and that’s why I was reluctant to talk about it.”