Who is Russell Brand? Free-speech warrior, iconoclast, and his life of extremes

That “old fame” had been hard-won and, indubitably, well-earned. The only offspring of a beloved single mother, Brand was a successful child actor (he was in The Bill and, with fellow Essex lad Russell Tovey, CBBC series Mud). But his childhood was also dogged by his mum’s repeated battles with cancer – she was diagnosed with uterus cancer when he was eight, battled breast cancer a year later, and then again when Brand was sixteen – his own struggles with an eating disorder, his early adoption of recreational drugs and his turbulent relationship with his dad, Ron. One time, Ron took his son to Thailand, whereupon he hired three prostitutes – a couple for him, and one for 16-year-old Russell.