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Russell Brand banned from making pregnancy gags

Russell Brand’s wife has "banned" him from joking about her pregnancy in his stand-up shows.
The 42-year-old comedian has 13-month-old daughter Mabel with his spouse Laura Gallacher and has revealed that he carries out "rigorous joke-checks" with his partner, and there is one gag she was quick to put a block on.
Speaking to ChronicleLive.co.uk, the ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ actor said: "I do rigorous joke-checks with my girlfriend and I really try and make a pitch for them. So far she has only banned one joke and charmingly and typically of her, that was in order to protect the midwife rather than her."
Russell admits Laura has had a large input in the jokes he makes as she was more than happy to divulge all the gory details about giving birth, which he has included in his routine.
The British funnyman – who is currently on his ‘Re:Birth’ tour – explained: "She’s been incredibly, may I say, open about the information that she’s allowed to be revealed about her most private, personal, bodily details and experiences.
"I didn’t realise until I started talking about the birth how many moments were wrenching apart my consciousness as surely (although perhaps not as graphically as they did other aspects of my female partner’s anatomy) because it changes everything.
"I feel like earlier shows might have been about me living in this mad, glittery world. But very early on in the process of writing this show, before I had written or performed any of the stuff about my daughter, I spoke to Jimmy Carr.
"Jimmy said, ‘This is going to be a show about a mad person now having to live a normal life, it’s going to be amazing to hear you talk about normal experiences.’ I have never been so blissfully happy."
Russell – who was previously married to pop megastar Katy Perry – has revealed his world, as well as his outlook on gender, has completely changed since he became a father.
When asked about the impact parenthood has had on him, the ‘My Booky Wook’ author said: "It changes how I think of the world; the fact that she is my daughter changes the way I think about gender.
"And being a father is a massive download, it is a massive reboot. It’s the equivalent of when you turn off your computer by pulling the plug out instead of shutting it down the proper way – it’s like you’ve turned it off by tipping water on it.
"My whole head feels different and unusual – it has inspired loads of different thoughts. It’s also made me look at the last year when I was involved in politics in the UK and beyond that. It has made me look at that time differently – it hasn’t made me change my principles or what I believe in – but it’s made me look back differently."