The Aporia · Moment Russell Brand and old friend David Walliams joke about pretending to be gay as a 'smokescreen' on Channel 4 comedy show

Moment Russell Brand and old friend David Walliams joke about pretending to be gay as a 'smokescreen' on Channel 4 comedy show

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Charters, C. (2026, November 9). Moment Russell Brand and old friend David Walliams joke about pretending to be gay as a 'smokescreen' on Channel 4 comedy show. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16272323/Moment-Russell-Brand-old-friend-David-Walliams-joke-pretending-gay-smokescreen-Channel-4-comedy-show.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Quick Summary

Russell Brand and David Walliams joked about using homosexuality as a "smokescreen" during an episode of Brand's show The Russell Brand Show on Channel 4 in November 2006. In this context, they referenced using such pretenses to seduce women without directly naming their behavior. This exchange occurred after Brand was recently convicted for rape and sexual assault, adding a layer of controversy to the nostalgic moment between the comedians.

Written by AI on 2026-11-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 24, 2006, Russell Brand invited his friend David Walliams onto the first episode of his TV show "The Russell Brand Show" on Channel 4, where they joked about pretending to be gay as a 'smokescreen'. During this appearance, Walliams presented Brand with an antique top hat and called him 'beautiful', while Matt Lucas quipped that they were the two 'gayest straight blokes there are'. Recently convicted of rape and sexual assault at Southwark Crown Court, Brand agreed with Walliams's joke about their behavior being a smokescreen. This incident highlights past interactions between the comedians, which took place shortly after they performed together for Comic Relief at the Hammersmith Apollo.

Written for “Russell Brand And David Walliams On Channel 4 Comedy Show” on 2026-11-09, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Why this leaning score

This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.

No political leaning scored for article 137978 · logged 2026-11-09

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0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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takes no side on a contested political question

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69/100

Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Entertainment

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Cameron Charters

11 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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Also by Cameron Charters

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2026-11-04 · Daily Mail

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2026-10-28 · Daily Mail

Emirati royal passed out on busy west London street with three-year-old child after cocaine binge

2026-10-14 · Daily Mail

Son saves his mother's life after using AI to look up why she was having seizures

2026-10-11 · Daily Mail

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 11 articles by Cameron Charters →

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

Russell Brand and his friend David Walliams joked about pretending to be gay as a 'smokescreen' in a veiled reference to seducing women. asserted

Brand → joke → women

The disgraced comedian, 51, invited fellow performer Walliams onto the first episode of his own TV programme on November 24, 2006 which aired on Channel 4. asserted

which → invite → Channel

Called The Russell Brand Show, Brand and Walliams shared a kiss on the lips, before the host was presented with an antique top hat by his guest as a present. asserted

host → call → present

Fellow guest, actor Matt Lucas, joked: 'You are like the two gayest straight blokes there are.' asserted

You → joke → blokes

Walliams said: 'Isn't it a wonderful smokescreen?' asserted

it → say → ?

Brand, who was convicted of rape and sexual assault at Southwark Crown Court last week, agreed adding: 'It works wonderfully well.' The footage appears six minutes into the programme and comes after Walliams said Brand looked 'beautiful' in his hat. asserted

Brand → convict → hat

Only two days earlier, Brand had appeared on stage with Walliams to perform onstage during Little Britain's Big Night charity gala performance in aid of Comic Relief at the Hammersmith Apollo. asserted

Brand → appear → Apollo

Russell Brand and David Walliams on stage at Little Britain's Big Night, in aid of Comic Relief Brand and Walliams are joined on stage by the Little Britain actor and comic Matt Lucas Brand and Walliams hugging at the after party for the British Comedy Awards 2006 in London Brand was supported by Walliams after he was sacked for verbally abusing the then 78-year-old former Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs on BBC Radio 2 During the show Walliams was dressed up as a woman leaning across Brand on a couch. asserted

Walliams → join → couch

Walliams told guests on the Russell Brand Show that he initially 'hated' the comedian when he met him. asserted

he → tell → him

He said: 'I hated you when I first met you on that boat. asserted

I → say → boat

To which Brand replied: 'Oh yes, I was a very different girl then.' asserted

I → reply → which

Brand's self publicised history of drug use was not put before jurors at his trial. But they convicted him of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault on four women after a month-long trial. asserted

they → publicise → trial

The Daily Mail revealed last week that Brand is now in HMP Wandsworth ahead of his sentencing hearing today before Justice Bennathan. asserted

Brand → reveal → Bennathan

Two years after appearing on Brand's television programme, Walliams was pictured leaving his friend's north London home. asserted

Walliams → appear → home

Walliams supported the comedian who was forced out of the BBC for abusing Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs. asserted

who → support → Sachs

In pre-recorded calls which were broadcast on Radio 2, Brand said he had sex with Mr Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. asserted

he → broadcast → granddaughter

Along with Jonathan Ross who was also on the calls, Brand was forced to apologise to Mr Sachs, who played Manuel in the comedy, after fierce public backlash. asserted

who → force → backlash

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Moment Russell Brand and old friend David Walliams joke about pretending to be gay as a 'smokescreen' on Channel 4 comedy show

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Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)