Russell Howard reveals he’s QUITTING television after 19 years – despite amassing a huge fortune through his BBC and Sky shows
Russell Howard has revealed he is quitting TV after an illustrious 19-year career.
The comedian, 44, first debuted on screens as a regular on BBC panel series Mock The Week, and has hosted shows on both BBC and Sky.
Speaking about the Have a word podcastRussell shared that in recent years he has preferred to focus on stand-up tours, as well as his podcasts Five Brilliant Things and GoalLess.
On his decision to walk away from TV, Russell said: “I don’t do TV anymore, I just do stand-up and my podcast.
“I’ve had a pretty good run, I prefer doing stand-up. I was all over the world and it was just fun.”
Russell added that he “wouldn’t do anything else” but write his own comedy set before touring the country.
Russell Howard has revealed he is quitting TV after an illustrious 19-year career to focus on his stand-up shows and podcasts
The comedian first debuted on screens as a regular on the BBC panel series Mock The Week, and has hosted shows on both BBC and Sky (pictured on The Russell Howard Hour)
‘TV is fun, but not that fun. Writing a book I couldn’t do that because I don’t want to sit and enjoy myself, but doing stand-up is what I like to do,” the comic continued.
“It’s not entertainment for the committee, it’s your dictatorship… The audience is like a brilliant jury that lets you know by laughing whether it works or not.”
Russell previously presented his Good News series for the BBC, which ran for ten series between 2009 and 2015.
He then launched The Russell Howard Hour for Sky TV in 2017, which ran for six series, including a Covid-themed run that he filmed at his home.
In August, Russell revealed he had become a father for the first time after welcoming a son with wife Cerys Morgan three months earlier.
Cerys, who married Russell in June 2019, is a geriatric doctor and the couple have now moved from London to Buckinghamshire to start their new family life.
He told it The times: ‘Six months ago I would have spent my evenings getting ready to go out and perform in front of a thousand people, but now I sit on the couch at night watching TV with my son on my chest.
‘I’m tired a lot. It’s funny, as you get older, everyone compliments you on your baby, but they will freely turn to you and say that you look bad, that your face should be on a government watch list or something.
On the Have A Word Podcast, Russell said he’d preferred to focus on stand-up tours in recent years, as well as his podcasts Five Brilliant Things and GoalLess
In August, Russell revealed he had become a father for the first time after welcoming a son with wife Cerys Morgan (pictured) three months earlier.
“So I try to sleep whenever I can. Right now I need it.”
Cerys started dating Russell when he was 24 and she was 20, in 2004 before their engagement was announced on Alan Carr’s Chatty Man on New Year’s Eve in 2018.
During the pandemic, Cerys revealed she had taken her six-month career break to return to the frontline of the NHS and help tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
She had planned a six-month trip, but returned to duty in 2020, tweeting: ‘Three weeks and two days and the dream of a career break is definitely over.
‘Today I return to support the NHS family.
‘Happy playlist on. Wish me luck!!!’
Cerys was working at West Middlesex University Hospital in Hounslow, London at the time.
In August 2020, Russell made headlines when he left an audience stunned when he left a performance because someone in the crowd was filming him with her phone.
The comedian spotted the woman filming him performing new material about five minutes into the set on the outdoor terrace of Bristol’s Bambalan bar.
He told the woman it was the worst thing she could do and told her to “live in the moment.”
The artist then took out his phone and pretended to film her, asking how she would feel if someone recorded her while she was working.
He said comedians are a “dying breed” because they fear people will film unseen or controversial content and post it online.
Before leaving, he tried to perform an old set, telling the crowd that he would only do “safe material” from now on.
But eventually he turned to the woman and said, “You’ve ruined it now.”
‘I was really looking forward to this performance.’
Then he apologized to everyone, grabbed his backpack from behind the stage and left.
The woman responded by telling the rest of the crowd that she was just taking photos and videos, as others had done.
A spokesperson for Russell Howard said at the time: ‘Any comedian whose set is recorded on a new material night would find this distracting. The great thing about a live performance, especially in these strange times, is that it is only intended for the audience.’