JAN MOIR: Russell Brand padded across the orange carpet in his rodeo boots and took the oath at stentorian volume...

And so it came to pass that Russell Brand took to the stand at his rape and sexual assault trial in London.

Standing tall in the witness box, wearing a navy suit and a white wing-collared shirt adorned with a complicated neckerchief, here he was at last, the dandy highwayman ready to stand and deliver his defence.

In the hours that followed Brand talked of the joys of 'canoodling and kissing', of how he believed that sexual consent was 'fundamental, essential, necessary and in many ways more important than sex itself', he described himself as the kind of considerate lover whose behaviour towards women was 'complimentary, flirtatious, flattering, tactile'.

Sometimes his grasp on sex details both large and small was admirable. Yes, he used his fame for 'reckless philandering.' Yes, he accepted 'my eyes change when I have an orgasm'. Yes, he admitted he was 'obsessed' with sex in his younger years – but denied being unable to function without it. However, he did admit that it was no mere pastime.

'It wasn't a hobby, you are right there,' he confirmed.

So much sex! Previously the jury had heard evidence of Brand's alleged unique brand of copious copulation – of sex and sexual acts in toilets, in bedrooms, in cars, in hotels. Now we learned that early in his career as a wannabe erotic buccaneer sometimes his performance was 'timid and faltering', although it wasn't long before his sensual needs grew beyond the strictly conventional. 'To be a bit more colloquial, kinky,' he kindly explained to the court.

What a defining, awful, grisly day for the actor-comedian turned preacher-guru, the former darling of the Labour Left turned Christian cheerleader of the Republican Right.

It began just after 10am yesterday morning when Brand walked the short distance from the glass walled dock to the witness box, the tread of his rodeo boots muffled by the courtroom's orange carpet.

Pad, pad, pad, he went. Feeling glad, glad, glad, he had said earlier, of this opportunity 'for truth and justice'. 

The comedian has been charged with three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one charge of attempted indecent assault

Previously the jury had heard evidence of Brand's alleged unique brand of copious copulation – of sex and sexual acts

Perhaps it was no surprise that Brand's natural flamboyance was not quite so easily muted as his footsteps. He took the oath at stentorian volume, a theatrical development fully appreciated by Mr Justice Bennathan, who has frequently asked lawyers and witnesses during this trial to speak up, slow down and repeat that again. 'Mr Brand, that is nice and loud,' he enthused. 'Keep your voice that loud, it is very useful.'

In return, Brand was scrupulously respectful towards the judge throughout the proceedings.

The comedian has been charged with three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one charge of attempted indecent assault. When his barrister Ian Winter KC put the seven charges to Brand and asked if he had committed them, his client answered in the negative every time. 'No,' he said loudly, just a whisper short of a bellow.

Yet the volume and sometimes the tone changed just a few hours later when prosecuting barrister Riel Karmy-Jones KC got stuck into her cross-examination, challenging his version of events.

'What did you do afterwards to make her feel better?' she asked about one of Brand's alleged victims.

'I didn't realise there was a requirement to make her feel better,' he replied.

The defendant's voice was noticeably quieter during some of their exchanges and occasionally there were long pauses before he answered questions – perhaps understandable, given he was recalling events that took place nearly 20 years ago.

'You are not suggesting that she enjoyed this, are you?' he was asked at one point.

'I don't remember,' came the reply.

'This is out of the realms of my contemplation,' he would say. 'I can see the argument that you are constructing,' he nodded. 'I can understand what you are suggesting and it is not true,' he said, even calling one of the KC's summations 'absurd'. 'I wasn't publicly earning as much money as you are,' he said at one point.

Like sporting fixtures and the human brain, this was a day made of two halves. One half was concerned with the asserted suffering of the alleged victims – the lack of lubricants, the lack of aftercare, the lack of respect, the lack of tact – the other with the suffering endured by Russell Brand himself.

He described his upbringing as someone with 'a pretty normal background, an adolescent boy with a good many issues', he talked of the 'deeply traumatic' events which brought him here to Southwark Crown Court and of how the Despatches documentary which first aired allegations against him had a 'devastating' effect on his life.

He finished giving evidence and padded back to his seat in the dock, noiseless once more behind the glass screen.