Comedian Russell Brand surely can't be a regular reader of the Peterborough Herald & Post - but he managed to get one of its reporters up on stage, even though she was nowhere near the theatre where he was performing.

Flicking through the pages of the H&P on stage, he asked if anyone in the audience knew reporter Marianna Elia.

Carlla Reed was in the crowd at the theatre watching and shouted to Russell telling him she was a friend of Marianna, famous for her weekly action features, and then texted her friend saying Russell was reading one of her articles out aloud on stage.

Carlla said: "Russell was talking about how the media writes propaganda material and he picked up a copy of the Herald & Post for examples.

"He read one of Marianna's articles about drug arrests in the city and then asked if anyone knew her. I couldn't just sit there, so I shouted out she was my best friend. Shortly after he asked to borrow my phone and rang her up to talk about what she had written."

Marianna, pictured above, was enjoying a quiet drink with her friends at the pub at the time of the call.

She said: "Carlla texted me saying Russell Brand was reading one of my articles to the crowd and that it was hilarious. I texted back asking what he was saying then shortly after I got a call from Carlla's phone.

"I answered the call to a male voice and it was Russell. I couldn't stop laughing; my friend and I were looking at each other in disbelief.

"He was taking the mickey out of the drug story I had written for page three, saying I had ruined people's lives for naming and shaming them about their drug convictions. Then he started picking on my journalism saying I must have been on drugs whilst writing the story!"

Marianna could hear the crowd laughing in the background, whilst he held the microphone to the phone for all to hear.

He then asked Marianna to go to The Broadway theatre so he could have a chat with her about her reporting.

She said: "It was lucky I was dressed for the occasion, I would have been gutted if I was in my pyjamas!

"When I arrived at The Broadway, the door people asked if I was 'the journalist' and ushered me to the front of the stage. Then Carlla and I got up on stage with Russell who continued to slate me, but I think I handled it well!

"I stayed for the remainder of the show and he kept referring to me here and there, it was quite funny, everyone was staring at me! After his performance he asked Carlla and I to go back stage.

"We were shown to his dressing room by his management team. Russell walked in a few minutes after and we had a chat. He was exactly how he was on stage and on the telly, really hyper and crazy!"