The Russell Howard Hour

Lore & Background

The Russell Howard Hour was first broadcast on Sky One on 21 September 2017. On 28 November 2017, it was announced that the show had been recommissioned for a second series, which began on 8 November 2018. Unlike the first series, the second series replaced the stand-up guest segment with a segment titled 'Live Forever,' where Howard and another comedian test ways to live longer. On 24 January 2019, the show was recommissioned for a third and fourth series. In Series 3, 'Live Forever' was replaced by 'Play Date,' which showed Howard spending time with a celebrity.

Reader's Guide

In spring 2020, shortly after the end of series 3, the fourth series was delayed until early autumn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Howard created a spin-off series called Russell Howard's Home Time, filmed at his home in Bath, Somerset, with a similar format but a shorter 30-minute runtime. It began on 9 April 2020 and ran for 9 episodes. The fourth series of The Russell Howard Hour began on 10 September 2020; the first episode had no live audience, but from episode two onward a socially distanced audience returned. On 17 December 2020, the show was recommissioned for a fifth and sixth series. On 8 September 2022, the first episode of the sixth series was pulled off air following the news of Queen Elizabeth II's death, airing two days later on Sky Max. With the closure of Sky One, the series moved to Sky Max. With the exception of the Home Time spin-off, all episodes were recorded at Television Centre in London.

Did You Know?

• The show premiered on Sky One on 21 September 2017.
• Series 2 introduced a segment called 'Live Forever' where Howard and another comedian test ways to live longer.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a spin-off series called Russell Howard's Home Time was filmed at Howard's home in Bath, Somerset.
• The first episode of series 6 was delayed by two days following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022.

Origins & Creation of The Russell Howard Hour

The Russell Howard Hour was formally announced on 29 November 2016 as a fourteen-part weekly comedy series set to air on Sky One the following year. The commission came as part of a two-year deal between Howard and the Sky network, signalling a significant step in his television career. The series premiered on 21 September 2017 and continued broadcasting until 22 December 2022, spanning several years on the channel. The show represented a natural evolution for Howard, who had already built a substantial television presence through Russell Howard's Good News on BBC Three — a programme that ran for ten series plus a best-of compilation and a Christmas special, and was later voted the Best Ever BBC Three show during the channel's tenth-anniversary celebrations in February 2013. By the time The Hour launched, Howard had also presented Russell Howard's Stand Up Central on Comedy Central from 2015 to 2016, and had made his United States television debut on Conan in August 2011. The Sky commission placed him at the centre of a new, extended-format comedy vehicle, distinct from the shorter panel and sketch formats he had previously inhabited.

The Host's Unfiltered Style & Public Persona

Russell Howard's approach to comedy has always been marked by a directness that few British television presenters match. Born on 23 March 1980 in Bath and raised in the nearby town of Radstock, Somerset, he grew up with two younger twin siblings, Kerry and Daniel, the latter of whom lives with epilepsy — a detail Howard has woven into his live material over the years. His comedic lineage is clear: he has openly cited Lee Evans, Richard Pryor, and Frank Skinner as formative influences, and his early recognition came quickly, including a Best Compère win at the 2006 Chortle Awards and an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for his 2006 Fringe show. That willingness to push boundaries carried through to his television work. In March 2016, during a BBC programme, he launched a blistering verbal attack on Conservative MP Philip Davies, calling him a string of colourful insults and accusing him of filibustering. The BBC was compelled to publish corrections clarifying that Davies had not personally consumed all the debate time and that his views on disabled workers had been misrepresented. The BBC Trust ultimately rejected Davies's further complaint. The incident encapsulated the unapologetic, confrontational energy that audiences would come to expect from Howard's on-screen persona.

Collaborations, Radio & Cross-Media Work

Long before The Russell Howard Hour, Howard had built a dense web of collaborations across British comedy. He was a key member of the Chocolate Milk Gang, a loose collective of comedians that included Daniel Kitson, John Oliver, David O'Doherty, and Alun Cochrane, with whom he frequently performed and created material. His shared enthusiasm for Liverpool F.C. with Oliver added a personal layer to that partnership. On radio, he was commissioned by BBC Radio 1 in 2004 to write, sing, and perform on The Milk Run, and later co-hosted a Sunday morning slot on BBC Radio 6 Music alongside Jon Richardson from November 2006 to July 2008 — a position that had previously belonged to Russell Brand. Howard eventually departed, explaining that radio felt "really restrictive" to him as a performer who thrives on live audience reactions. His panel-show résumé is equally extensive: he was a regular on Mock the Week until 2010, and made appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie to You?, Live at the Apollo, The Secret Policeman's Ball, Law of the Playground, and multiple episodes of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He also took over as compère of the Edinburgh and Beyond show from Al Murray in 2009.

Beyond the Hour – Acting, Travel & What Came Next

Beyond his central hosting roles, Howard's career stretched into acting, travel documentary, and live touring in ways that enriched his public profile. In December 2015, he made his acting debut in BBC Two's A Gert Lush Christmas, a comedy-drama he also co-wrote, playing Dan Colman on a Christmas visit to his Bristol family; his real-life sister Kerry appeared alongside him as the character's sister Julie. The following October, he and his mother Ninette set off on a road trip across America for the Comedy Central travel series Russell Howard & Mum: USA Road Trip. His live circuit never truly paused — in November 2013 he made a surprise appearance in Barnard Castle to preview his Wonderbox tour, and by 2017 his touring commitments were so demanding that he had to step away from Stand Up Central, with Chris Ramsey taking over the third series. In January 2025, Howard announced he would no longer work in television, choosing instead to devote himself to stand-up tours and podcasts. Yet his connection to panel comedy endures: in 2026 he returned to Mock the Week as a recurring panelist for the show's revival on TLC, full circle from his original run on the programme.

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