Plus, weekly listener-driven bumper episodes available exclusively on Patreon

“Open and generous, and funny in a way that many famous comedians simply cannot muster over coffee with an audience of one at 11am, it’s easy to see why Howard connects with his guests so easily.”
Guy Kelly, The Telegraph

Best podcasts of the week: Russell Howard and friends reveal their most precious possessions

 “a genial twist on the chat format and an interesting way to convince guests to share lively anecdotes”
Alexi Duggins, The Guardian  

“one of the world’s top comedians”
Martin Hemming, The Sunday Times

27^th November – Launching into the Top 10 Comedy Podcasts, Russell Howard’s hugely popular Wonderbox podcast – featuring an incredible lineup of guests and over 80 million views on social media – relaunches today as Five Brilliant Things, in partnership with Adelicious and Patreon.

Five Brilliant Things is a weekly podcast that celebrates the stuff in our lives that makes it worth getting up in the morning for. Each week a different special guest sits down with Russell to explain the items from their lives that bring them happiness. Plus, for the first time, Russell will record a weekly show based entirely on listener suggestions, available as bumper episodes only through media and community platform Patreon.

To date, highlights on the podcast include John Oliver recounting what it’s like to do a gig to one person, Jameela Jamil revealing her unexpected past as a meat smuggler, Linford Christie giving Russell a lesson in proper running form, and Stephen Merchant confessing to being an online chess troll, alongside several clips going viral such as  Jimmy Carr describing his dream cocktail (17 million views),  Greg Davies on his missing Paella dish (7.9 million views) and Fatiha El-Ghorri delving into the power of language (3.1 million views).

Kicking off today’s episode, Russell chats with award-winning comedian Sara Pascoe, with upcoming guests including philosopher and global best-selling author Alain de Botton, British etiquette coach William Hanson, Irish model and media personality Vogue Williams, and more.

Leticia Hirabayashi, Director of Acquisitions at Patreon said: “We are thrilled to have Russell Howard join Patreon to provide his fans with exclusive access to his podcast in a new weekly podcast episode suggested by his fans. This gets at the core of what Patreon is, a place that brings together creators with their true fans to create exclusive media and have direct connection to one another within the community.”

Craig Eastwood, Commercial Operations Director at Adelicious said: “Five Brilliant Things marks a natural evolution from the success of Wonderbox, reflecting the show’s growth and Russell and the team’s dedication to sharing more meaningful stories. With exceptional guests and exciting plans for listener-driven episodes on the horizon, Adelicious is proud to support this exciting new chapter that we know both current fans and new listeners will love.”

After the global success of writing and starring in 182 episodes of The Russell Howard Hour (Sky) and Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC), as well as six stand-up specials, Russell’s clips have garnered over 1 billion views on social media, and he has sold 2 million tickets worldwide. Russell is currently on his fourth and biggest world tour to date with Russell Howard Live, which has seen him sell over 315,000 tickets and perform over 200 shows across the UK (including 13 sell-out shows at the iconic London Palladium), Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand, ahead of playing India, Hong Kong and Singapore, and returning to the US and Europe for additional dates in the New Year.

Alongside Five Brilliant Things, Russell recently began co-hosting an all-new original podcast, GoalLess, focused on the passion, personalities, and pitch drama that make soccer beautiful, with Chris Wittyngham through SmartLess Media: a joint venture between Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett.

Russell’s previous world tours have seen him perform a record-breaking 10-night run at the Royal Albert Hall, overtaking eight in a row jointly held by Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow, and play the biggest ever stand-up show in China.

Russell has over 9 million followers on social media.

Notes to Editors:

What The Press have said about Russell Howard Live, so far:

“completely irresistible…one of the most effective political stand-ups around, for the way he can keep any crowd on board, being didactic without being divisive… God, the man can put on a show. Howard is a brilliantly talented live performer”
Tristram Fane Saunders, The Daily Telegraph ★★★★

“Hilarious and Humble…established a solid international fan base thanks to years of touring and his work spreading like wildfire on the internet…wildly successful and acclaimed”
Simon Thompson, Forbes (US)

“his flow is punchy and unstoppable”
The New Zealand Herald

“a humor phenomenon made in the UK, which social networks have spread around the world. Without barriers or borders, his stand-up shows have already won fans from geographies as diverse as the USA, China or Denmark. Language is not an obstacle to getting a good laugh”
Ana Pina, The Portuguese Jornal Económico

“Top British comedian…understands that despite language, culture and current political divisions, we are all just humans trying to muddle through. And, at our core, we have a shared humanity.”
Dana Gee, The Vancouver Sun

“you’ll not find a slicker, more personable performer the length and breadth of the land”★★★★
Mark Wareham, The Mail On Sunday

About Russell Howard:

• On 26^th September, Adelicious, signed Russell Howard’s Wonderbox podcast.
• On the 15^th September, Russell began co-hosting an all-new original podcast, GoalLess, focused on the passion, personalities, and pitch drama that make soccer beautiful, with Chris Wittyngham through SmartLess Media: a joint venture between Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett.
• In October 2023, Russell Howard’s Wonderbox podcast launched in to the Top 10 Comedy Podcasts and has seen him chat to guests including John Oliver, Stephen Merchant, Jameela Jamil, Jimmy Carr, Shaun Keaveny, Roisin Conaty, Munya Chawawa, Jack Whitehall, Greg Davies and Guz Khan about personal mementos they’d keep to remind them about important moments in their lives. Clips from the weekly episodes have amassed over 80 million views on social media.
• Russell wrapped filming the sixth series of ratings and critical hit The Russell Howard Hour in December 2022. The show immediately became one of Sky’s most successful entertainment series when it launched and went on to see huge success online with over 500 million views on social media.
• Selling over 300, 000 tickets, Russell’s third world tour, Respite saw him play a UK arena run, plus a second national leg including 5 Hammersmith Apollo dates, culminating with taping his second Netflix special Lubricant which is streaming now.
• The two-part Netflix instalment features his stand-up special striving to make sense of a world that is spinning out of control, Lubricant and documentary mapping his attempts to keep performing throughout the Covid 19 pandemic, Until The Wheels Come Off. With this release, Russell became the first comedian to debut a special alongside a documentary on Netflix and the sole comedian to have two of the top ten most-streamed specials across all platforms in the UK.
• Russell became the first stand-up comedian from the Northern Hemisphere to perform in New Zealand and Australia after the global lockdown in 2021.
• Whilst on tour in New Zealand and Australia, Russell filmed a new 3 x 60 min travelogue, Russell Howard Stands Up To The World, airing in the UK on Sky in New Zealand on TVNZ in 2021.
• During lockdown in 2020, Russell was on our screens twice a week presenting a new Sky One show, Russell Howard’s Home Time, from his childhood bedroom for which he donated his fee to NHS Charities Together and The Trussell Trust.
• Russell Howard and his mum Ninette were on our screens with the fourth series of Comedy Central’s Russell Howard & Mum: Globetrotters in 2019. The first three series reached 4.2M individuals, with the first series being the highest rated new commission on the channel the year it launched. After achieving as much as +241% on the 16-34s slot average and +172% on the adult’s slot average, series three and four were commissioned with extended episodes.
• A Netflix special of Russell’s previous critically acclaimed world tour titled Recalibrate launched worldwide in December 2017.
• Russell’s 2017 sell-out international tour, Round the World saw him play a total of 87 dates with runs in the UK, USA, Canada, Europe, China, New Zealand and Australia.  This tour also saw a record-breaking 10-night run at the Royal Albert Hall, overtaking eight in a row jointly held by Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow, and performing the biggest ever stand-up show in China.
• Whilst Russell was touring Round The World in 2017, his previous stand-up show Wonderbox (2014) went viral with 15 million views in China (with Mandarin subtitles) and 55 million views worldwide.  Russell Crowe and Stephen Fry are amongst some of the Twitterati who shared the heart-warming story of Russell and a sick fan’s triumph over adversity.
• Russell Howard’s Good News is available around the world via a YouTube channel launched in 2014 – allowing fans to watch full episodes of the show (without piracy) in countries where the show wasn’t already broadcast – and has had over 48 million views and been watched in 180 countries (including North Korea and Vatican City)
• Christmas 2015 saw Russell’s 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’s 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 for its first episode.
• Episodes of Russell Howard’s Good News have even been subtitled and uploaded to Chinese video site AcFun, where the show has also been watched over 4 million times.
• 10 series of Russell Howard’s Good News saw Russell write and star in 96 episodes.
• Russell Howard’s Good News was regularly the most watched show on iPlayer across all BBC Channels.
• Russell’s 2014 Wonderbox tour 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.
• 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.
• Russell’s 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 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 made 58 appearances on Mock The Week between 2006 and 2010.
• Russell Howard’s fifth ever stand-up gig got him to the final of Channel 4’s So You Think You’re Funny.
• In 2006 Russell Howard was nominated for the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Award for his show Wandering, which followed with a nationwide sell-out tour.

Press Contacts

• Patreon – [email protected]
• Adelicious – Sarah Jackson – [email protected]
• Avalon – Victoria Wedderburn – [email protected]

About Patreon

Launched in 2013 by and for creators, Patreon is a media and community platform where more than 300,000 creators connect directly with their fans to offer exclusive works and experiences. It is the destination for millions of fans to get exclusive access to their favorite creators’ works through purchasing memberships and digital goods and engaging directly with creators and like-minded fans in community chats. Creators across a variety of genres— including but not limited to podcast, video, music, visual arts, gaming and more— have built thriving fandoms on Patreon. Learn more about Patreon and our community on Instagram and on our Newsroom.

About Adelicious

Adelicious, founded in 2020 by podcasters for podcasters, is the UK’s leading independent podcast hosting platform. Our founders recognised the need for honesty, integrity, and fairness in the podcast advertising landscape. Their vision led to Adelicious, a platform built around quality inventory, excellent customer service, a podcaster-first mentality, and innovation. Today, as an invite-only network, we’re the trusted choice for some of the world’s leading podcasts, with a three-fold growth in listeners year on year.  At Adelicious, we believe in a personalised, results-driven approach that ensures both podcasters and advertisers benefit from our hands-on expertise. To find out more visit https://www.adelicious.fm/

About Avalon

Avalon is a multi-award-winning talent management, television production and live promotion group with offices in London, Los Angeles and New York. Avalon, Artists Rights Group and The Agency together represent a diverse and distinctive roster of artists including actors, comedians, writers and directors, among them Academy Award, BAFTA, Emmy, Tony and Olivier Award-winners.

Avalon is the UK’s largest true independent television production company, with over 40 shows in production in the last year including: hit entertainment format Taskmaster (Channel 4 in the UK, Network 10 in Australia, TV4 in Sweden, TVNorge/Discovery+ in Norway); Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); Starstruck (HBO Max/BBC); Not Going Out (BBC), the UK’s longest running sitcom on air; Breeders (FX/Sky); and Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly (Channel 5). Avalon has produced over 4,000 episodes of hit programming for audiences in the UK, US and around the world, winning over 30 Emmy Awards and BAFTAs from 100+ nominations.

Other landmark Avalon shows include Catastrophe (Amazon/Channel 4), Flatbush Misdemeanors (Showtime), The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), TV Burp (ITV), and the cult classic workplace sitcom Workaholics (Comedy Central). Avalon has also produced over 60 comedy specials for various platforms including Amazon, HBO, Netflix and Sky, as well as numerous podcasts and radio shows, including the UK’s second most popular podcast, Shagged. Married. Annoyed. with Chris & Rosie Ramsey. Avalon’s dedicated distribution arm licenses its catalogue of programmes and formats to over 200 territories worldwide.

Avalon also produces and promotes live comedy around the world and has promoted more winners and nominees of the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award than any other company. Avalon produced Newman and Baddiel: Live at Wembley, the UK’s first arena comedy show, Jerry Springer: The Opera, winner of four Olivier Awards, and is currently producing Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical in the West End, winner of two Olivier Awards including Best New Musical in 2024, as well as Taskmaster: The Live Experience, a new London visitor attraction based on the TV show.

For Avalon news visit: www.avalonuk.com/press or follow @avalonent