Russell Howard has revealed he has left television 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 presented shows on both the BBC and Sky.
Talking about the Have a word podcastRussell shared that in recent years he has preferred to focus on stand-up touring, as well as his podcasts Five Brilliant Things and GoalLess.
Speaking about his decision to step away from television, Russell said: “I don’t do TV anymore, I just do stand-up comedy and my podcast.”
‘I had a pretty good career, I just prefer doing stand-up. I’ve been all over the world and it was just fun.’
Russell added that “there’s nothing else I’d rather do” than write his own comedy, before touring across the country.
Russell Howard has revealed that he left television 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 the BBC and Sky (pictured on The Russell Howard Hour).
‘Television is fun, but not that much. I couldn’t write a book because I don’t want to sit down and entertain myself, but what I love is doing monologues,” the comedian continued.
“It’s not entertainment for the committee, it’s your dictatorship… The public is like a brilliant jury that lets you know through laughter if it works or not.”
Russell previously presented his series Good News for the BBC, which ran for 10 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 one which he filmed at his home.
In August, Russell revealed that he had become a father for the first time after welcoming a son with his 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 said The times: ‘Six months ago I spent the afternoons preparing to go out and perform in front of a thousand people, but now I find myself sitting on the couch watching television with my son on my chest.
‘I’m very tired. It’s funny, when you become a parent, everyone congratulates you on your baby, but they will freely turn to you and tell you that you look like shit, that your face should be on a government watch list or something.
Speaking on the Have A Word podcast, Russell shared that in recent years he has preferred to focus on stand-up touring, 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. I need it right now.’
Cerys began dating Russell when he was 24 and she was 20, in 2004, before their engagement was announced in Alan Carr’s Chatty Man on New Year’s Eve 2018.
During the pandemic, Cerys revealed that he had cut short his six-month career break to return to the NHS frontline and help tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
He had planned to travel for half a year, but returned to duty, tweeting in 2020: “Three weeks and two days and the dream of breaking his career is definitely over.”
‘Today I’m back 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 stunned audiences by storming out of a concert because someone in the crowd was filming him on their phone.
The comedian noticed the woman filming him, while performing new material, about five minutes into the set on the outdoor terrace of the Bambalan bar in Bristol.
He told the woman it was the worst thing she could do and that she should “live in the moment.”
The artist then took out his phone and imitated filming her, asking her if she would like someone to record her while she was at work.
He said comedians were a “dying breed” because they were worried about people filming invisible or controversial content and posting it online.
Before leaving, he attempted to perform an old set, telling the crowd that he would just play “some safe material from now on.”
But finally he turned to the woman and said, “Now you’ve ruined it.”
“I was really looking forward to this concert.”
He then apologized to everyone, grabbed his backpack from backstage and left.
The woman responded by telling the rest of the audience that she was just taking photos and videos like others had done.
A spokesman for Russell Howard said at the time: ‘Any comedian whose set is being recorded on a night of new material would find it distracting. “The beauty of a live performance, especially in this strange time, is that it is meant solely for the living room.”