Russell Brand 'ready to start family'

Russell Brand's reported "priority" is having children.

The comedian started dating journalist Jemima Khan in September last year. The couple sparked wedding rumours last week when Jemima was photographed wearing a ring on her engagement finger and sources say they are making lots of plans for the future, including having babies.

"Russell has made no secret of wanting children," an insider told British magazine Grazia. "It's all he talks about. They are also planning to get married. But it seems that starting a family is Russell's priority."

Russell's desire to have kids was one of the reasons his marriage to singer Katy Perry ended in December 2011. The couple were husband and wife for 14 months, but in an interview last year 29-year-old Katy revealed that deciding when to start a family was one of the main reasons their union failed.

"[Russell] really wanted me to have children, and I knew I wasn't ready," she said in an interview with Marie Claire. "I think it was a way of control... I'd have to be home more."

Russell, 38, has a reputation as a notorious lothario and is rumoured to have dated stars including Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, former Playmate Holly Madison and Peaches Geldof. But during a recent interview, he revealed how strongly he feels about 40-year-old Jemima.

"I really love her. I'm very, very happy in a relationship that feels very different from anything I've experienced before," he said during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show. "I'm going to be really kind in this relationship. I haven't been out there trying to nail everyone."

Jemima already has two sons, Sulaiman, 17 and Qasim, 14, from her first marriage to cricketer Imran Khan.