Russell Brand's celebrity world of the 2000s was 'the perfect aquarium for a predator', says Loaded magazine founding member Martin Deeson

On an exclusive episode of The Trial podcast, brought to you by The Crime Desk, crime reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull sit down with Martin Deeson, a founding member of Loaded magazine, to understand the showbiz world that facilitated Russell Brand's sexual offending.Launched in 1994, Loaded was Britain's first lads' mag, devoted to 'sex, drink, football and less serious matters' until its print edition closed in 2015.Speaking as an insider, Deeson, one of the magazine's most prominent journalists, said the celebrity world of the early 2000s carried an undercurrent of misogyny.Brand, who was found guilty on Thursday of rape and three counts of sexual assault, rose to prominence as a comedian and presenter in this era. He was cleared of two further counts of rape and one of attempted indecent assault.Deeson described the private members' clubs of the time as 'the perfect aquarium for a predator'.He explained: 'It was very noticeable in that period from the late 90s to the late 2000s, as celebrities became huge celebrities. Speaking as an insider, Deeson, one of the magazine's most prominent journalists, said the celebrity world of the early 2000s carried an undercurrent of misogyny Brand, 51, who was found guilty on Thursday of rape and three counts of sexual assault 'It was pretty much impossible just to go to the pub. Private members' clubs in Soho, other hotel bars, places where the public can't just walk in, became the places where, as a journalist, you'd go and every third person would be a celebrity.'It meant you were hidden from prying eyes. There was a sort of code that journalists don't report what goes on in there... It also meant, of course, that any member of the public who was let into that world of celebrity must have instantly been on the back foot.'He added that while Brand was, by his own account, clean by this point, 'cocaine was the social drug of choice of that era, which meant it was absolutely normal to stand in a private members' club and see three people come out of a toilet cubicle.'If you were of a predatory nature, it's hard to imagine a more perfect aquarium. It's a members' club, they're going to go into even tinier rooms, the only locking room in the whole building, with two or three people.'People around them wouldn't bat an eyelid, and there are no witnesses.'Asked whether the culture of the era had enabled Brand, Deeson suggested he had hidden in plain sight, likening it to how Jimmy Savile's offending went unchecked for decades.He stressed he was not making a direct comparison, adding that there have 'always been characters like this in every era'.'Savile was on Have I Got News For You in 1999,' Deeson recalled. 'Angus Deayton said to him, 'Are you still a wrestler? You used to do wrestling.' He went, 'Oh yes, I still do it. I'm feared in girls' schools up and down the country.''Of course, the studio burst out laughing. Now, in a sense, you can't blame the studio audience because they didn't know that Savile was a horrific repeat offender. Asked whether the culture of the era had enabled Brand, Deeson suggested he had hidden in plain sight, likening it to how Jimmy Savile's offending went unchecked for decades'But he's doing that really psycho thing of hiding in plain sight. It's very legally dubious to make... I'm not making a connection at all.'But one might say that if you're going on stage at the O2 in front of 17,000 people saying you're a sex addict, you're a shagger, what is anyone going to accuse you of?'Deeson added that nothing about the culture of the time 'excuses anyone's behaviour', and that the difference between consent and non-consent had 'always been exceptionally clear'.Listen to the full episode by subscribing to The Crime Desk. Subscribers gain exclusive access to Trial Plus, On The Case, ad-free listening and much more.