The BBC has announced an upcoming Panorama special, but no details have been released.
The broadcaster would ordinarily post episode details and a title on its website and TV listings ahead of the air date, but has not done so for the feature, which airs on Monday (October 2) at 9 p.m.
Instead, the promotion for the next 59-minute BBC One show merely states: ‘Special. Documentary about an investigation.’
The clandestine procedures hint that the Panorama show may feature explosive claims, similar to the previous Dispatches segment in which Russell Brand was accused of emotional abuse, sexual assault, and rape.
Similarly, Channel 4 did not provide details on the 90-minute show before it aired, despite Brand issuing a video statement ahead of time in which he revealed’very serious charges’ were levelled against him and ‘totally’ refuted them.
Following a joint investigation into Brand by The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4’s Dispatches, the Met police said it is looking into additional sex crime accusations.
The force stated on Monday that it had received a “number of allegations of sexual offences in London” as well as elsewhere in the UK, but that they were all non-recent and that no arrests had been made.
In a statement, Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, from the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Command, said: ‘We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a sexual offence, no matter how long ago it was, to contact us.
‘We understand it can feel like a difficult step to take and I want to reassure that we have a team of specialist officers available to advise and support.’
The force stated that it will provide specialised assistance to all of the women who have filed claims.
On Saturday, Brand praised his followers for ‘questioning’ the rape and sexual assault charges levelled against him.
In a three-minute video released on YouTube, Rumble, and X, he described the week after the accusations were made as ‘exceptional and upsetting.’
Brand was accused of rape, assault, and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013, when he was working for the BBC, Channel 4, and appearing in Hollywood films, according to the Dispatches programme.
The Met previously stated that it received a sexual assault complaint in Soho, central London, in 2003, which surfaced when the remaining live gigs for his Bipolarisation tour were cancelled.
In the aftermath of the claims, YouTube also barred Brand from making money, and the multimillionaire has since implored supporters to assist him financially.
The Panorama Special airs on Monday (October 2) on BBC One and will be available shortly after broadcast on iPlayer.
