‘I had a pretty good run’ said the comedian. Russell Howard has revealed that he’s quit television after 19 years. The British comedian, 44, is best known for his show Russell Howard’s Good News, as well as regular appearances on comedy panel show Mock the Week.
Howard said he will now plans instead to focus on his live stand-up shows and two podcasts, Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things and the sports-focused GoalLess. “I had a pretty good run, I just prefer doing stand-up. I was all over the world and it was just fun.”.
The comedian, who last appeared on TV in August last year on Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of Telly, is set to tour internationally this year with shows across the US and Europe. Howard added that “there’s nothing else I’d rather do” than touring and putting together shows.
“TV is fun but it’s not as fun,” he explained. “Writing a book I couldn’t do because I don’t want to sit and entertain myself but doing stand-up is what I love doing.”. He added that he appreciated the autonomy he gets from doing stand-up.
“It’s not entertainment for committee, it’s your dictatorship,” he continued. “The audience are like this brilliant jury that let you know through laughter whether it works or not.”. Russell Howard’s Good News ran for 10 series with 96 episodes between the years 2009 and 2015. In 2017, Howard launched the Russell Howard Hour on Sky One as part of a two-year deal. He wrote and starred in the 14-part weekly comedy series.
