Wandsworth Prison, built in 1851, is located in an ordinary residential area in south-west London. The Victorian institution - where author Oscar Wilde and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange were locked up - has thick brick walls and an imposing entrance.
The prison is structured like a wheel, with multi-story wings radiating from a central point.
A week ago, comedian Russell Brand was convicted against his denial of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was then taken to Wandsworth - which has the second highest security rating - in a white prisoner transport. During the first weekend, he was kept separate from the other 1,500 men at the prison.
On Monday, the sentence was determined: ten years and six months in prison. Brand must serve two-thirds of the sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Wandsworth is notorious for several reasons. Chris Atkins, who served eight months there for tax offences, described the prison as "hell on earth" to the BBC.
"The first month is without a doubt the worst. The psychological shock is huge. That's how it was for me, and for him it's going to be ten times worse given the crimes he's committed and how far he's fallen," Atkins said.
“He has to come to terms with the situation and with the purely physical shock of suddenly being locked in a dungeon for weeks, often with no one to talk to. It's terrible."
In September 2023, Wandsworth came into focus after a 21-year-old terror suspect escaped dressed in chef's clothes under a vehicle delivering food to the prison. The security of the prison was called into question after the escape.
The following year, in May 2024, an inspection was carried out which revealed serious irregularities.
The level of violence was higher than in other prisons. The prison had rampant levels of self-harming behaviour, and seven prisoners had killed themselves in the year before the inspection. More than half of the inmates stated that it was easy to get hold of drugs.
At the same time, the prison was dirty, with broken furnishings and vermin. In the cells, there was feces from animals and urine on the floor. 80 percent of men shared small cells made for one person. In many cases, the toilet was not screened off from the rest of the room, even though the inmates shared a cell.
Most inmates spent more than 22 hours a day in their cells, partly due to staff shortages.
Russell Brand will likely sit alone in a cell that usually has a bed, a sink and a toilet. Some cells also have a TV and a kettle. On Sundays, Brand, who has profiled himself as a Christian influencer, can attend church services. He also has the opportunity to be regularly visited by a prison chaplain.
When Brand arrived, like all other inmates, he was given a gray prison jumpsuit that has been described as "itchy" and "often the wrong size" by former inmates.
Brand's celebrity and the crimes he has been convicted of could make him a target for other inmates, staff at other prisons told the BBC.
- When a trial receives a lot of attention in the media, the crimes committed by the defendant come into focus. This in turn makes him vulnerable to the inmates' own legal system, which can express itself in mistreatment and abuse. This applies especially in the case of sexual offences, says an anonymous prison manager.
Brand can be moved to another prison with less strict restrictions and more modern premises when part of the sentence is served.
At the same time, there are reports of new suspicions against the comedian. A further six women have accused the comedian of sexual assault and transgressive behaviour, according to a review by The Times and The Sunday Times published on Thursday.
The accusations include sex without consent, unwanted sexual advances and that he allegedly used his celebrity status to make contact with women. The incidents must have occurred between 2005 and 2015.
Fire is also being investigated by the police for further cases of rape.
