Russell Brand has said a documentary that made allegations about his behaviour had a "devastating" effect on him, and made friends and colleagues turn against him.

The entertainer has begun giving evidence as his defence case gets under way at his trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Brand, 51, is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one charge of attempted indecent assault.

The allegations, made by six female complainants, span a 10-year period between 1999 and 2009. He denies all the charges.

Asked whether consent was important to him, he told the court: "Consent is fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed many ways more important than sex itself."

After Brand entered the witness box on Wednesday morning, defence barrister Ian Winter KC began by taking him through the indictment, asking him if he had committed the offences.

After each question, Brand replied "no" loudly towards the jury.

Brand was then asked about a documentary that aired in 2023, which included some allegations against him.

Asked by Winter what impact the documentary had had on his friends and colleagues turning their backs on him, Brand said: "It was devastating."

Winter questioned whether Brand had been able to persuade any friend or acquaintance who might have been able to give evidence on his behalf to appear in court.

Brand, wearing a black suit with an open neck white shirt and a loose black tie, replied: "I have not."

Winter asked: "Will they touch you with a bargepole?" Brand said: "No."

Brand gave evidence from the witness box as the defence case began on Wednesday

Brand also claimed in court that he was told he could not stay with his son at Great Ormond Street hospital in London when the child was having open heart surgery, following the documentary and a newspaper investigation.

He told the court: "Due to material that had been published in the public eye they had to bar my attendance and presence.

"They were unclear about what legal reason there was but that was the reason they gave to my wife Laura and I."

Brand told the court: "My entire life has been consumed by these allegations," adding that he had "devoted myself to these matters".

Winter asked Brand if he recalled meeting the first complainant, who alleges he raped her at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1999.

Brand said yes, explaining that he found her "loquacious" and "interesting".

When asked if there was any truth in the allegations that he raped her, he said: "No."

Brand was then asked about another woman, who alleges that the entertainer grabbed her breasts before dragging her into a toilet and raping her.

Brand said he recalled been invited to a party in London at a bar in 2004, and said a friend had introduced him to the complainant by saying "something like 'there's a bird here who really wants to meet you mate'."

When asked if he remembered what he said to her upon meeting, he told the court: "I would have said something like, 'You're really, really beautiful'."

The barrister asked whether he had grabbed her breasts. "Absolutely not," Brand replied.

When questioned if he would have behaved in the way that had been alleged, he said it would have amounted to "disgusting behaviour".

"I was increasingly focused on my promiscuity," he said. "That's not the way I would have behaved because it's not only criminal but vulgar."

Brand said he remembered going into the toilet with her but said "no" when asked if he had dragged or forced her there.

"Did your penis enter her mouth at all whilst in the cubicle?" Winter asked. "No," said Brand.

Another complainant who worked at MTV alleges that Brand tried to drag her into a toilet at work in 2001.

At the time, he was one of the channel's star presenters. She said she managed to wrench herself away.

Asked if he had intended a non-consensual sexual encounter, Brand told the court: "Absolutely not."

Brand was also asked about his wedding to singer Katie Perry in October 2010 and whether it brought a "sea change" to his life. He said the marriage brought him "staggering fame".

You can follow the trial day by day on the BBC podcast Russell Brand on Trial - available on BBC Sounds, YouTube, iPlayer, or wherever you get your BBC podcasts