Russell Brand has reportedly been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse at the height of his fame in an investigation by The Times and Channel 4's Dispatches.

Four women are alleged to have come forward with claims, with the incidents taking place between 2006 and 2013. During this time Brand was a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 and starred in several Hollywood films.

The 48-year-old comedian last night shared a video statement denying 'criminal' and 'very serious' allegations, which he said had been put to him in the form of a letter and email from an unnamed television programme and newspaper.

The extent of the allegations have now been revealed, with one woman claiming Mr Brand raped her at his home in Los Angeles, allegedly against the wall of his home. The alleged victim is said to have received treatment at a rape crisis centre on the same day, and claiming Brand said he was "very sorry" for causing distress.

A second woman claims Brand, aged 31, assaulted her when she was just 16 and still at school. The alleged victim claims he often referred to her as "the child" during their emotionally abusive relationship which lasted three months. She later claimed to The Sunday Times that Russell "forced his penis down her throat", which made her choke.

Speaking to the outlet, a third claims that she was sexually assaulted by Brand in Los Angeles and added that he threatened her with legal action if she decided to speak out. Meanwhile, a fourth alleged victim claimed she was allegedly assaulted by Brand and that he was physically and emotionally abusive towards her.

In the YouTube video shared on Friday night, he said: "Now, this isn't the usual type of video we make on this channel where we critique, attack and undermine the news in all its corruption because in this story, I am the news. I've received two extremely disturbing letters or a letter and an email. One from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks, as well as some pretty stupid stuff like community festival should be stopped, that I shouldn't be able to attack mainstream media narratives on this channel.

"But amidst this litany of astonishing rather baroque attacks, often very serious allegations that I absolutely refute. These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies. And as I've written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.

"Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual. I was always transparent about that. Then almost too transparent, and I'm being transparent about it now as well. And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question, is there another agenda at play? Particularly when we've seen coordinated media attacks before, like with Joe Rogan, when he dared to take a medicine that the mainstream media didn't approve of, and we saw a spate of headlines from media outlets across the world using the same language.

"I'm aware that you guys have been saying in the comments for a while, watch out, Russell. They're coming from you. You're getting too close to the truth. Russell Brand did not kill himself. I know that a year ago there was a spate of articles. Russell Brand’s a conspiracy theorist, Russell Brand’s right wing. I'm aware of news media making phone calls, sending letters to people I know for ages and ages. It's being clear to me, or at least it feels to me like there's a serious and concerted agenda to control these kind of spaces and these kind of voices. And I mean, my voice along with your voice."

Brand added: "I don't mind them using my books and my standout to talk about my promiscuous consensual conduct in the past. What I seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations. Also, it's worth mentioning that there are witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narrative that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct, apparently, in what seems to me to be a coordinated attack.

"Now, I don't wanna get into this any further because of the serious nature of the allegations, but I feel like I'm being attacked and plainly they're working very closely together. We are obviously going to look into this matter 'cause it's very, very serious. In the meantime, I want you to stay close, stay awake, but more important than any of that, if you can, please stay free."

The statement came ahead of a scheduled Dispatches documentary set to air on Channel 4 this evening at 9pm. The Mirror understands the documentary is set to allege bad behaviour by an A-list household name. The contents of the Dispatches, which will discuss a number of celebrities in the industry, is said to be potentially hugely damaging. The episode has been listed without a title.

One TV insider said: "This programme has been years in the making and is being edited up to the last minute. It has the potential to halt the career of at least one celebrity with the contents."

If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.drcc.ie or by calling the national 24-hour helpline on 1800 77 8888.

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