Scots journalist behind Russell Brand Dispatches documentary reveals how bombshell allegations were exposed

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Scots journalist behind the bombshell Russell Brand documentary has told how her team exposed allegations of rape and sexual assault against the comic.Former Daily Mirror journalist Geraldine McKelvie, from Wishaw, Lanarkshire, was part of a unit which probed a series of shocking claims made against the star by four women, spanning seven years.The allegations formed part of a report published by the Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches and have been strenuously denied by the 48-year-old stand-up.But they have sparked huge reaction since Dispatches aired its explosive documentary, In Plain Sight, on Saturday night - with fresh allegations since emerging.

Brand has strongly denied any wrongdoing.McKelvie, a senior journalist at Channel 4’s Dispatches Investigations Unit, said the team worked hard to bring the women’s stories to light and uncovered “chilling” archive footage relevant to the case.She said: “We worked on the story for a year.

The volume of work involved was quite phenomenal to get it to that point.”Four women are alleging sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013 - a period when Brand had various high-profile jobs including at BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4, and as an actor in Hollywood films.Other allegations made as part of the investigation relate to Brand’s allegedly controlling and abusive behaviour.Married Brand, who was previously wed to US singer Katy Perry, said his relationships have been “always consensual”.Saturday’s documentary featured clips of Brand speaking explicitly about sex and his relationships with women.McKelvie, former investigations editor at The Mirror, says colleagues carried out a huge amount of work trawling archives to unearth clips linked to claims made by his accusers and