Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things

You want strong opinions about bananas? You’ve come to the right place. Northern Irish powerhouse comedian Shane Todd has flown in to give Russell his Five Brilliant Things, and bananas are right out of the traps. Even the hardest of hearts will be turned by his impassioned defence of the bendy yellow berry.
Shane also make the case for simply pottering around, keeping sock drawers in check and he lets himself off the leash when he gets talking about Irish boybands. It’s all here and it’s flying without wings. 

🎭 SHANE’S OFF ON TOUR! His latest massive tour is called ‘Hold Me Back’ and it’s going all over the UK, Ireland and the World throughout 2026. Get tickets and see this remarkable young comic at his best - https://www.shanetoddcomedy.com 🎭

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is well underway with rave reviews: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

And so the blurb endeth. What are you still doing here staring at a screen? The weather has changed! You should be out there frolicking in the buff, shocking bus stops full of unsuspecting people with your magnificent buttocks. Go! 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is a cracking episode with a cracking comedian. The Taskmaster star Stevie Martin speaks with completely unguarded honesty about her favourite things which leads to not one but several introspective spirals! What is it about chonky penne, pyrex jugs and interior design that could lead to a live-on-air existential episode? Get your bobbles in your ears, press play and find out. It’s lots of fun. 

🎭 You should go to see Stevie live! Stevie extended has her critically acclaimed and sold-out debut UK tour, Clout, for the second time to 100 dates with more shows added in Autumn 2026. Stevie kicks off her 2026 tour dates with an already sold-out performance at The Glee Birmingham on Tuesday 3rd March, with the tour now running till October. Full dates and tickets: https://steviemartin.com/🎭

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is well underway with rave reviews: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

And here ends your weekly recommended dose of blurb reading. I know it feels hard-going but you’ll start to see the benefits someday soon. You’ll have a frontal-lobe that’s so large people will start to avoid you in the street and make babies cry. That’s what you wanted, right? RIGHT?

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A true icon of British TV Comedy - it’s Harry Enfield! It’s no exaggeration to say that he redefined a whole generation of comedy in this country, with his jokes and catchphrases reaching millions every week. 

Harry sits down with Russell to explain his brilliant things and also give a candid insight into how they created those iconic characters and sketches - a behind-the-scenes look at how some of the biggest hitting comedy of the last fifty years was formed. 

🎭 Harry is off on tour around the UK with his new show ‘Harry Enfield and No Chums’!

From the meteoric rise of Loadsamoney, a Thatcherite Visionary, to the fury of Kevin the Teenager, Harry will reflect on 40 years of arsing about in comedy and bring some of his favourite characters vividly back to life on stage. You can find out the dates and get tickets by following this link. 🎭

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is starting its grand journey across the UK: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

There we are! A classic episode for the ages. Dunno if you’re reading this before or after listening, but either way thanks for being one of the weirdos that reads to the end. You know it’s just you and me at this point, right? Only two of us. But at least we have each other. Xxx

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we have the winner of the 2024 Edinburgh Best Show! One of Britain’s fastest rising comics is with us; it’s the fabulous Amy Gledhill and this is an absolute banger of an episode. 

Hull’s most exciting product since the White Phone Box explains why cheap white bread is better than all your fancy Italian nonsense, how working in a dungeon gave her existential dread and why she enjoys spending her free time singing about tapeworms and listening to hairdryers. 

🎫 Amy is putting the finishing touches to her brand new tour ‘Thanks for Having Me’. Tickets are about to go on sale, and may well even be there by the time you read this. Check and re-check https://amygledhill.co.uk/live-dates to find out the dates and get the tickets. 🎫

📻 Also get into those podcasts - Amy is on Northern News with Ian Smith, and on Single Ladies in your Area with Harriet - get either of them by searching for them on your podcast app. Both are freely available with many episodes to catch up on. What a treat! 📻

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is starting its grand journey across the UK: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

Thanks for being here, thanks for being you, but now it’s time for you to leave. Bye!

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From our January shows, here's a little taster of each episode so you can get a flavour of the things we got up to with our wonderful guests:

Comedian and star of ‘The Change’ on C4, Bridget Christie

Comic and social media sensation Daniel Foxx

Actor and stand-up Tom Rosenthal

And the endlessly fascinating historian, Dan Snow.

If you hear anything you like, circle back and enjoy the whole episode - they are all there waiting for you to listen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices