Keith Lemon star Leigh Francis says he ‘feels sad’ for Russell Brand amid rape allegations

Leigh Francis – who's better known under the comedy moniker Keith Lemon – says the allegations against Russell Brand are a "saddening thing for everyone".

Earlier this month, Russell, 48, was at the centre of Channel 4's Dispatches investigation, with a number of anonymous women coming forward with accusations of sexual assault or rape between the years of 2006 and 2013 – at the height of Russell's fame. The comedian-turned-activist has strongly denied all allegations against him.

Addressing the claims while speaking to MailOnline at the Radiant Resilience private exhibition in London, former Celebrity Juice host Leigh, 50, shared: "I promised myself I wouldn't comment on it – it's just sad, isn't it?

"It's a saddening thing for everyone. It's sad for the ladies, it's sad for his family and it's sad for him."

Asked whether there's a fear that he himself could ever face similar accusations, Leigh said: "I've been married to the same lady since I was a little boy. I met my wife when I was 19, and I got married when I was 30 to the same lady, so there's no worry about me getting cancelled for that."

The TV favourite and beauty therapist Jill Carter have been married for over 20 years and share two daughters in Matilda and Dolly.

Russell pre-empted the Dispatches special on his YouTube channel.

He told the camera: "I've received two extremely disturbing letters – well 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…"

"Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some 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. As I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very very promiscuous.

"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 the transparency metastasised into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me think, 'Is there another agenda at play?'"

Meanwhile, the Get Him to the Greek actor's ex-wife Katy Perry is now feeling "haunted by their marriage" according to sources close to the Teenage Dream popstar, 38.

“This is an absolute nightmare for everyone and Katy feels sick to her stomach," they told OK!

"She can’t believe she was married to someone accused of such horrible things. She fears that marrying Russell was the worst decision she ever made.

"Katy has moved on with her life, but her first marriage might end up haunting her to the grave. You can imagine how upsetting this has been for her," the source continued.

The pair were married for 14 months from October 2010.

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