RUSSELL HOWARD RETURNS TO COMEDY CENTRAL UK WITH SECOND SERIES OF HIT STAND-UP SHOW

 

“If you’re of the opinion that there are too many comedians on panel shows and not enough comedians doing actual comedy, then this is for you – the sparky Good News presenter getting back to the day, er, night job.”
The Metro

 

“hilarious”
The Sun

 

RUSSELL HOWARD, one of the country’s most successful comedians, will return to Comedy Central UK to host a brand new ten part series of Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central this May.  With the first series achieving viewing figures 159% above the slot average for the channel, RUSSELL returns to Camden’s iconic Electric Ballroom to perform exclusive new material, answer more (sometimes) weird and (usually) wonderful audience questions, not to mention introduce his handpicked roster of the best UK and international stand up acts.

 

This series RUSSELL will be welcoming fellow comedians including JAMES ACASTER (QI), JIMMY CARR (8 Out of 10 Cats), BRIDGET CHRISTIE (Have I Got News For You), ED GAMBLE (Mock the Week), JOSIE LONG (The Alternative Comedy Experience), JOE LYCETT (Never Mind the Buzzcocks), CHRIS RAMSEY (Celebrity Juice), ISY SUTTIE (Peep Show), TOMMY TIERNAN (Father Ted) and SEANN WALSH (Live at the Apollo).  The show also features support from newer names causing a buzz on the UK comedy circuit, including RHYS JAMES and BBC New Comedy Award winner YURIKO KOTANI.

 

The first series of Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central debuted Catastrophe star ROB DELANEY’s stand up to a British TV audience and featured a host of the hottest comedic names of last year including DOC BROWN, ROISIN CONATY, NICK HELM, NISH KUMAR, SARA PASCOE, and KATHERINE RYAN.

 

 

Russell’s take on Uniform Dating from Series 1

 

A busy year for RUSSELL saw Russell Howard’s Good News return to BBC Two for its tenth series, with clips of RUSSELL’s satirical take on the week’s news regularly going viral: his attack on the Tampon Tax racked up over 9 million views; an impassioned segment in support of junior doctors was seen by over 7 million, and an exasperated look at the absurdity of the US gun lobby gained nearly 5 million views (online RUSSELL now has over a million followers on Twitter, and over 3 million fans Facebook, where he is the biggest British comedian).  2015 also saw RUSSELL co-write his first feature length special, A Gert Lush Christmas (BBC Two), which he also starred in alongside his sister KERRY HOWARD (Him & Her), GREG DAVIES (Man Down), NEIL MORRISEY (The Night Manager), and SOPHIE THOMPSON (EastEnders).  Away from TV, it was announced that RUSSELL will be setting off on his international Round the World tour in 2017 (his first since 2014’s Wonderbox) and will see him play 10 consecutive nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall (3 of which sold out in the first week on sale) as well as perform in a further 29 international cities including New York, Sydney and Gothenburg.

 

An Avalon Television production for Comedy Central UK, Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central is directed by PETER ORTON and produced by JASON DAWSON.  Executive producers are RICHARD ALLEN-TURNER, JAMES TAYLOR and JON THODAY for Avalon and JILL OFFMAN, LOURDES DIAZ and EMMA CLARKE for Comedy Central UK.

 

For more information please contact: Dan Lloyd or Nathan Dean at Avalon on 0207 598 7222 or danl@avalonuk.com / nathand@avalonuk.com

 

For more information about Comedy Central please contact: Amanda Browne or Michael Hickson on amanda.browne@comedycentral.co.uk / michael.hickson@premiercomms.com

 

Other things the press have said about Russell Howard:

 

“Quite the pan-generational sex symbol and rumpled comedy god these days; a huge TV star”
Alison Graham, Radio Times

 

“Howard’s success is down to the way his comic outlook strikes a chord… He’s not afraid to be silly and gently whimsical but he never disappears up his own arse.  And his attitude is always sunnily optimistic, taking delight in the daft little details of his life.”
James Kettle, The Guardian

 

“Howard has become one of the most successful stand-ups of his generation.”
Ross Jones, The Telegraph

 

“Howard is energetic, uncynical and, most importantly, very funny.”
David Hayles, The Times

 

“Perennially popular… sanguine hyperactive stand-up – with a healthy dollop of schoolyard puerility.”
Warren Howard, The Independent
Notes to Editors

 

Avalon Television

Avalon Television is also currently in production with: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO), Taskmaster (UKTV), Man Down (Channel 4), Not Going Out (BBC One) and Workaholics (Comedy Central USA).

 

Russell Howard

 

  • RUSSELL HOWARD is the most popular British comedian on Facebook with over 3.2 million fans and over 2 million followers on Twitter

 

  • RUSSELL starred in his first comedy-drama with the premiere of, A Gert Lush Christmas (BBC Two). As well as co-writing the special, RUSSELL starred for the first time along-side his sister KERRY HOWARD (Him & Her, BBC Three), GREG DAVIES (The Inbetweeners, Man Down, Channel 4), NEIL MORRISSEY (Men Behaving Badly, Waterloo Road, BBC1), and SOPHIE THOMPSON (EastEnders, BBC1).

 

  • RUSSELL has written and starred in 96 episodes of Russell Howard’s Good News across 10 series on BBC3 and BBC2.

 

  • Russell Howard’s Good News is regularly the most watched show on iPlayer across all BBC Channels.

 

  • RUSSELL’s YouTube channel, which was launched in September 2014 allowing fans around the world to watch full episodes of Russell Howard’s Good News (without piracy) has had 17.6 million views from hit viral videos and been watched in 180 countries (including North Korea and Vatican City).

 

  • Series 10 of Russell Howard’s Good News has seen three segments go viral, from a passionate backing of junior doctors and the NHS (over 7 million views and described by Huffington Post as, “incredible”), an interview destigmatising Tourettes (4.3 million views and described as, “uplifting and hilarious” by The Independent) and to demonstrating the absurdity of the tampon tax (9.6 million views with Metro saying RUSSELL, “nailed how stupid the tampon tax actually is.”

 

  • Episodes of Russell Howard’s Good News have been subtitled and uploaded to Chinese video sharing site AcFun, where the show has had over 4 million views.

 

  • RUSSELL’s brand new stand-up series Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central, which aired from April 2015 on Comedy Central (UK), achieved viewing figures of 159% above the slot average. Series 2 returns at the same time next year.

 

  • In 2017 RUSSELL will return to the live stage for the first time in three years with his second and biggest world tour – Round The World. The new dates will see RUSSELL play arenas nationally, 10 nights at the Royal Albert Hall and 29 international cities including: New York, Wellington, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, Sydney, Oslo, Washington DC, Chicago, Dublin, Helsinki, Vancouver, Reykjavik, Melbourne and San Francisco. This 2017 tour will see RUSSELL, wherever possible, performing ‘in the round’ to the audience as he plays to his existing fans and new global viewers of Russell Howard’s Good News.

 

  • RUSSELL’s 2014 tour, Wonderbox – saw him perform to over 285,000 fans at 40 shows across the UK and Ireland, including four consecutive nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall and extended with a further eight arena shows in December.

 

  • RUSSELL extended his 2014 Wonderbox tour across the world following over 17,000 suggestions from his fans after he asked them via Facebook where they’d most like to see him perform. The extra sold out dates saw RUSSELL travel to New York, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, Denver, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Auckland.

 

  • His previous tour in 2011, Right Here, Right Now saw him perform to over 240,000 fans across the country, including three sold out dates at London’s O2 arena.

 

  • RUSSELL has performed to over one million people on his UK and international tours from 2006-2014.

 

  • Series 9 of Russell Howard’s Good News in its new home on BBC2 achieved over 3 million viewers each week.

 

  • RUSSELL HOWARD has four bestselling stand-up DVDs, 2014’s Wonderbox Live, 2011’s Right Here, Right Now, 2008’s Russell Howard Live and 2009’s Russell Howard Live – Dingledodies, which have sold over 619,000 DVDs and all been in the top 5 DVD comedy chart.

 

  • RUSSELL was voted Heat Magazine’s “Weird Crush of the Year 2013“

 

  • RUSSELL HOWARD appeared on Mock The Week 58 times between 2006 and 2010.

 

  • In addition to being a regular on Mock The Week, RUSSELL has twice featured on Live At The Apollo and appeared on Would I Lie To You (BBC One), Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC Two), and 8 Out 10 Cats (Channel 4).

 

  • In 2010 RUSSELL HOWARD took part in the Sport Relief Million Pound Bike Ride with DAVID WALLIAMS, JIMMY CARR, FEARNE COTTON, MIRANDA HART, PATRICK KIELTY and DAVINA McCALL – cycling 874 miles from John O’Groats to Land’s End in 4 days and raising over £1,337.099.

 

  • In the same year RUSSELL HOWARD ran the London Marathon, raising money for the National Society for Epilepsy – a condition from which his brother suffers. He completed the 26 mile course in 4 hours and 15 minutes and raised over £7,000.

 

  • In 2006 RUSSELL HOWARD was nominated for the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Award for his show Wandering, which followed with a nationwide sell-out tour.

 

  • From November 2006 to July 2008, RUSSELL co-hosted The Russell Howard Show (BBC 6 Music) with fellow comedian JON RICHARDSON in a Sunday morning slot previously hosted by RUSSELL BRAND.

 

  • RUSSELL HOWARD’S fifth ever stand-up gig got him to the final of Channel 4’s So You Think You’re Funny.
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