In the dock Brand's statue-like demeanour was broken only occasionally, when, during some of the evidence, he closed his eyes for several seconds, perhaps in silent prayer or meditation. There was no fidgeting or movement. He didn't flinch.

He maintained his composure even during some of the most harrowing evidence, when one of the victims told the court how blood and faeces had been left on Brand's bed sheets after he had raped her at his house.

During the testimony, Brand let out a sigh and looked at the ceiling with his eyes closed.

Speculation grew about whether Brand would give evidence - defendants can choose whether to take to the stand in their trials. It became a daily talking point among the reporters.

Giving evidence yourself can be a double-edged sword; a chance to vigorously defend one's innocence on the one hand, balanced by the risk of being torn apart by the prosecution barrister.

But it finally happened. Brand took to the witness box on day 10 of the trial. His testimony was perhaps unsurprising - after all, nobody apart from his wife had been prepared to speak up for him in court as part of the defence's case.

Brand entered the witness box wearing a dark suit and a white open-necked shirt. It was a nervous beginning. In an unusually loud voice he answered "no" to each of the allegations that were put to him.

He had taken his bible oath loudly too and stood, bolt upright with hands clasped behind his back.

I watched him like a hawk. This was a TV personality who was very much part of my youth, but now being interrogated with his liberty on the line.

His nerves seemed to visibly ease, so much so that at one point he put his hands in his pockets. It was noticeable that after an adjournment, he was back in his ramrod style stance with hands out of his pockets, behind his back.

His wife attended court with him every day - soberly dressed, she sometimes took notes when the complainants were giving evidence.

Her support for her husband was visible - holding his hand as they walked in, smiling at him while he was in the dock for hours at a time.

Brand's minder often sat next to her in the public benches, and her father, former Ryder Cup-winning golfer Bernard Gallacher sat with her in the gallery during the defence closing. Brand's father, Ron, also attended regularly, exchanging polite chat with some of the media.

At 51 years of age, Brand looked gaunt and visibly thinner as the trial neared its end, he seemed to have lost weight as the days went on. Other reporters said the same. We discussed whether signs of confidence he showed at the start had slowly ebbed away.

The verdicts came on Thursday after the jury had been deliberating for eight hours and 30 minutes.

Brand, who stood upright in the dock, showed limited emotion as the verdicts were read out. "Sit down Mr Brand," the judge told him after the verdicts were delivered.

"On what happens next," he added, "obviously a custodial sentence of some length will result."

Brand mouthed "I'm good, I'm good" to his defence counsel as he was led away.

But his appearance in court was an extraordinary fall from grace. A man hailed as a multi-media celebrity, a self-confessed ladies' man too, but now a convicted rapist in custody.

Extracted and lightly reformatted for readability. · Source: pt