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PODCAST

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things

Avalon Television

Each week Russell sits down with fantastic guests to chat about their Brilliant Things; the items, places and people that make life worth living.

comedy comedy interviews

All Episodes

63:23

Mike Rice

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/04/08

The acerbic, charming Irish stand-up is here with his Five Brilliant Things and tales from an extraordinary career, spanning from the milking sheds of Ireland to travelling the world performing to thousands, via regular visits to a shed to hang out with a tiny mystic man.Mike’s touring! We talked about it on the podcast and we weren’t lying. It’s Mike’s most accomplished solo comedy show to date and if you like what you hear you’ll love his live show. Find out those Irish and UK dates by going

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57:06

March's Moments of the Month

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/04/04

Hello there!Welcome to March’s Moments of the Month. In case you’re new here, this is a compilation show with a little snifter of each guest we’ve enjoyed this month, so you can get a flavour. Then if you like the taste of any of them you can double-back and listen to the whole episode. It’s a good way to discover someone you would never have thought of clicking on before. First in studio in November was the brilliant Northern Irish stand-up Shane Todd. After that we were visited by

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62:05

Dara O Briain

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/04/01

The hugely acclaimed Irish Stand-up and host of Mock the Week gives a fascinating and funny hour of anecdotes. Travel with Dara on debating tours of Ireland, stand in a field with him doing astral photography and hear Dara’s trick for finding his own personal nightclub dance floor. Dara has some date left for his smash show ‘Re:Creation’. It helps if you’re Scandinavian, as many of the dates are in that neck of the woods however there are some England and Ireland dates at the end of 2026

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64:03

Andrew Mensah

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/03/25

Comedian Andrew Mensah joins us with tales of playing Padel with Wayne Rooney, the economics of Air Force One Trainers and why there’s nothing better than sitting down for a game of Articulate. There’s also a fascinating insight into the way British society interfaces with its cultural landscape; Andrew’s account of how he managed to move from the gang culture of his childhood to become well-loved fixture on the comedy circuit is the kind of thing you don’t hear often. Andrew is always gigging

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64:49

Ben Shephard

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/03/18

One of the most popular faces from British TV is here; from This Morning, from Tipping Point and so much more it’s Ben Shephard! What comes through in this ebullient show is Ben’s love for life and thirst for experiences (and thirst for drinks with bubbles in them). Ben takes us on a trip on the back of a motorbike through the London traffic, lifts the lid on how you go about doing a Men’s Health cover-shoot and forces Russell to try on a cardigan. And as we spoke about on the show, Ben

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65:41

Pierre Novellie

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/03/11

Pierre is a formidable stand-up comedian and it’s a pleasure to take this wander around the corners of his fascinating brain. This fun and fascinating episode of Five Brilliant Things takes in the majesty of beef, the efficiency of Grahame Greene, the mystery of thunder and finally why you must go out, find a child, and make it watch you read a book. Curious? You should be; all is revealed within Pierre’s episode here. 🎭 Pierre’s out on tour and you should experience him raw (by which I mean

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45:57

February's Moments of the Month

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/03/07

Welcome to our best of February's shows, with a little snippet of each of the four shows we slung into the world across the last month. This show features Charlie Higson talking about the wonders of the Voyager Space Probe... Comedian and podcaster Amy Gledhill eulogising about some of the most Northern sandwiches you could imagine... Comedy legend Harry Enfield on the utility and beauty of the 'umble wig... and Taskmaster's Stevie Martin on why she covets other people's sofas. This is just

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63:33

Shane Todd

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/03/04

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

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61:32

Stevie Martin

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/02/25

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

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56:42

Harry Enfield

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/02/18

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

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64:19

Amy Gledhill

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/02/11

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

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47:07

January's Moments of the Month

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/02/09

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

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64:00

Charlie Higson

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/02/04

British Sketch Comedy Royalty in the studio. One of the core cast of the iconic Fast Show is here and his name is Charlie Higson! He lays out the Five Things that make life interesting - get ready for a delightful journey through James Bond, what is and isn’t included on the Golden Record that we yeeted into space. How did Charlie go from being a Punk Band frontman to a decorator to a comedian… and a best selling James Bond author? What a life. 📖 Charlie has just released his latest book; it’s

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60:42

Dan Snow

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/01/28

Fascinating, delightful company. That’s what Historian Dan Snow is. I suppose the skill of any historian worth their salt is to use that historical knowledge and make it relevant today, and this endlessly interesting podcast does exactly that. Dan’s passions go way beyond history, drawing in sailing tall ships, democracy and most importantly of all, his greatest passion beyond all other things: GHERKINS.📖 Dan’s treatment of history is available to us all through History Hit: A series of

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61:32

Tom Rosenthal

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/01/21

Tom Rosenthal is a comedian with a deep interest in all things: His Brilliant Things include The Danish Gambit, The Golden Ratio and Trip Reports. This is a repeatedly fascinating conversation where Tom is completely unguarded and enthusiastic in his descriptions of these corners of humanity. He also conjures, from nowhere, the most outstanding improvised acid trip you’ll ever hear. It’s well worth your time. We talked about it on the show; Tom’s latest show is out on tour. It’s called ‘Whatever

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58:45

Daniel Foxx

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/01/14

Why is it the ruder the waiter, the more it gets Daniel Foxx excited? The laconic comedian is here to explain the beauty of surly service, the simple serenity brought by a scented candle, and you’ll experience some of the worst ASMR in podcast history. Russell also relates the time Louis Theroux gyrated aggressively at him. That’s worth the admission fee alone. Daniel’s latest tour ‘How Lovely’ is about to hit UK theatres, so to get yourself a whole evening of this very funny comic please

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61:43

Bridget Christie

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/01/07

Superb comedian Bridget Christie is here. She’s won the Edinburgh Award, she’s been nominated for oodles of comedy prizes, she’s written and performed in two series of her own show ‘The Change’ for Channel 4 and now she sits down with us to reveal her Five Brilliant Things. It’s as thoughtful and funny as you would imagine from a comic as good as Bridget, including why empathy is disappearing, why we underestimate water and driving a motorbike through London at night. Zoom zoom. Bridget has

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75:28

December's Moments of the Month

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2026/01/03

From our December 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: Doctor/Writer Adam Kay Taskmaster star and stand-up Ania Magliano Stand-up comedy legend Ross Noble and one of the most fascinating people in Britain, Rory Sutherland. If you hear anything you like, circle back and enjoy the whole episode - they are all there waiting for you to listen. Happy New Year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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68:42

Rory Sutherland

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2025/12/31

Marketing expert and thinker-outside-the-box, Rory Sutherland is here with his Five Brilliant Things and they all begin with the letter C: Consumerism, Contradictions, Cars, Commuter Towns, Cornbread and the Commonwealth. You’ll notice that’s more than five things, which typifies this episode. The ideas and conversation flowing out of Rory and Russell was abundant and it’s one of the most densely packed interesting shows we’ve made in ages. If you are sparked off by the way Rory thinks then

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54:23

Russell's Best Bits of 2025

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things ·

2025/12/24

Happy Christmas!This week Russell looks back over all of the shows from 2025 and picks his favourite moments from 52 x 5 Brilliant Things (So…quick bit of maths…that’s…260 Brilliant Things). We’ll be back in a week with a brand new show and loads of super-exciting guests in the new year. On our Patreon show something a bit special this week - Russell and Dan sit down and talk about how they made the TV show Good News. For anyone who enjoyed that show, it’s a real treat and an insight into what

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