A look at Russell Brand’s career and dating history ahead of UK exposé

Russell Brand, known for his penchant for self-promotion and often described as "self-obsessed," rose to fame by recounting his intimate escapades.

Born as an only child in Grays, Essex, he gained recognition through his one-man stand-up shows.

For a brief period, he was a prominent figure in London's social scene, first dating supermodel Kate Moss (who later regretted her choice) and allegedly also having an involvement with Moss' friend, Sadie Frost.

In 2008, he solidified his fame with the release of his book My Booky Wook, in which he candidly discussed his struggles with heroin addiction and a multitude of sordid explicit encounters.

During this time, it seemed that there was no one he couldn't charm. In 2010, after a short courtship, he married pop star Katy Perry in an extravagant seven-day ceremony in India. Their initial meeting occurred at the MTV VMA awards when Perry playfully threw a plastic water bottle at his head.

However, just fourteen months later, Brand texted her to announce that he wanted a divorce, citing issues related to her being the "boss" on her tour, and Perry described his behavior as "really hurtful and very controlling."

Perry was not the only woman to regret crossing paths with him. One of his conquests, Hannah Gregory Soskin, revealed that Brand had to wear a gum shield at night to prevent teeth grinding and snored "like an elephant."

Brand struggled to build his career in stand-up comedy while battling a severe heroin addiction. Throughout this period, he was consistently unfaithful to his girlfriend of six years, Amanda.

He briefly worked for MTV but was dismissed after showing up dressed as Osama Bin Laden shortly after the September 11 attacks. He also introduced his drug dealer to Kylie Minogue on air.

Meanwhile, Brand shared a video on YouTube denying allegations from a mainstream media channel and a newspaper that included "serious" accusations. 

He said: "Amidst this litany of astonishing rather baroque attacks, often 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."

"And as I've written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous."

"Now, 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."