Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things

Which mega-famous US celebrity has a room full of AI holograms that he talks to? It’s all in this podcast with ‘Stay Toxic’ Instagram star and brilliant comedian, Red Richardson.  Aside from this extraordinary anecdote about being taken through rooms of madness, there’s also wonderful tales about Keith Floyd, some great stories about living wild in Devon and the whole podcast is packed full of lau...

Food poisoning in Kyrgyzstan with Jack Dee? It's just one of the fantastic stories told by comedian Jake Lambert on today's fantastic episode of Five Brilliant Things. Other highlights include a vigilante mission to discover the man (or woman) who shot his cat and much much more. 🙀 Jake is huuuuge on Instagram where his reels do some serious numbers - you can see him on Instagram where he's @jake...

Are you an Umarell? Or will you become one? What is an Umarell? It’s all in Tiff Stevenson’s Five Brilliant Things. Tiff is a fantastic UK-based comic who has joined us in the studio to talk about the majesty of accents, the beauty of weddings, the taste of childhood sweets and the mysterious Umarell.  It’s worth listening just for Tiff’s wonderful way with accents. Come for the accents, stay for...

Four short clips from this month's episodes for the indecisive or time-poor podcast listener. This gives you a taster of what we did this month and if you like the sound of any of them you can go back and devour the whole thing. July's guests were Australian comic Felicity Ward, Ironman competitor and TV presenter Ashley Cain, comedian Sophie McCartney and Internet Food Sensation, What Willy Cook....

The YouTube sensation, the brains behind Big Shaq and the international hit 'Man's Not Hot' - it's Michael Dapaah and he's in the studio to tell Russell about his Five Brilliant Things. Michael's Brilliant Things include Bernie Mac (which has an unexpected story about Michael meeting Dave Chappelle in Ghana?!) and his ex-girlfriends. Michael talks in the show about his new project 'Comfortably Spe...

Will can cook. And he’s become rather well-known on Instagram for his no-nonsense, chirpy recipes under the Instagram handle ‘What Willy Cook’. Well here he is with his Five Briliant Things, including the smell of mini-eggs, sandwiches in general and Portuguese food. It’s a cheeky sashay through these marvellous things and there’s some excellent food and cooking tips to take away too.  As mentione...

Do you fancy a romp through 90s nostalgia? Because comedian Sophie McCartney has got you covered. Her brilliant things include the X Files, Keanu Reeves, as well as some amazing frank stories about the less glamorous side of being a Mum (as you may expect from Sophie).  Lots of fun and our Patreon episode is equally exciting with a run down of Russell’s plan to approach Dame Judi Dench to play him...

This episode of Five Brilliant Things is an enormously powerful listen; an emotional journey through the extraordinary life and times of the TV Host and endurance athlete Ashley Cain.  He talks with disarming honesty about finding strength and wisdom after the tragic death of his daughter, and his Five Brilliant Things are actually borne of his adversity.  He also goes into detail about what it wa...

The best of our June shows! Starring Jake Humphrey, Harriet Kemsley, Jordan Banjo and Max Fosh. A snippet from each show that you can sample as a little amuse bouche (amuse oreille?) and see if you fancy listening to some more. It's the perfect way to find out about people you don't know or just trot away an hour or so. Please enjoy. Normal shows are still released as always every Wednesday, this...

Australian actor, comedian and infectious company (can we say that positively in a post-covid world?!) Felicity Ward is in the studio with Russell today. She’s here to talk about the five things that make her happiest, and they are belters.  Felicity shares her passion for turning up as a surprise when you said you couldn’t make it, she talks about the joy of passing on generational family weirdne...

Having dinner sitting next to a grizzly bear. Provoking a hundred muscle-bound men in Coventry. Visiting a laboratory in Spain to cook food using lightning. It could only be YouTube’s most innovative creator… Max Fosh!  Russell and Max sit down to discuss Max’s Five Brilliant Things, which include many tales of his extraordinary life and the mad challenges he sets himself. Also mayonnaise. He bloo...

JORDAN BANJO Jordan Banjo, from the Diversity street dance group, from I’m a Celeb, from Kiss FM is in the studio and his Five Brilliant Things are a huge amount of fun; from watching videos of Mums cutting fringes badly through to smelly pens and a surprising revelation about how old Jordan was before he’d tasted water… Get thee into this podcast and enjoy Russell and Jordan talking all over thes...

From Last One Laughing it’s comedian Harriet Kemsley, who is great company and with some surprising stories; her youth flying in World War Two Fighter Planes to her snowboarding exploits PLUS find out why she could end up imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay… it’s all in this fantastic episode of Five Brilliant Things.  🎭 Harriet has just a few tour dates left, notably one on 12 June at Leicester Square...

Welcome to May's moments of the month; a show where we round up the highlights of all the episodes of the past month so you can have a nibble at all of them and see if they take your fancy. May 2025 in the studio we had Kae Kurd, Jeff Innocent, Jordan Stephens and Adam Buxton. Please enjoy this new monthly taster show. This won't change our normal shows released as usual every Wednesday (or once e...

How did the F1 anchor cope when David Coulthard was so hungover he’s got a bucket between his legs just out of shot? When he was hosting the football, how badly was Jake reprimanded for jeering at the Ipswich fans from the commentary box? Jake Humphrey from the High Performance podcast (and formerly of CBBC) is in the studio with Russell to wax lyrical about his Brilliant Things including the mud...

Adam Buxton, the OG, the Podfather, king of all things Pod is here and he’s not just brought Five Brilliant Things - he’s also brought a load of nearly-ran Brilliant Things!  Fascinating and funny as always, Adam takes us through why dinner is so important, how he’s unable to invent bedtime stories and which bird has a song like EDM.  It’s just great! An hour with Adam just flies by and you will c...

From Rizzle Kicks it’s the fabulous Jordan Stephens, and his brilliant things are brilliantly wide-ranging.  What’s the greatest ever TV show intro theme? The answer is in here, as well as some mind-expanding discussions about the profundity of vegetables. 🥦 Hell yeah.  💿 Rizzle Kicks have recorded and released a new album which is called ‘Competition is for Losers’ and you can preview it or buy...

Jeff, AKA Racist Grandad by the internet, is in the studio and his Five Brilliant Things are a wonderful trip across a rich and colourful life. In case you’re not aware, Jeff is one of the UK comedy circuit’s top acts but for decades was unknown outside the clubs. Now, after all that time, he has become Insta-famous. This wonderful episode of the show takes in 60s reggae record hunting, working on...

What is the rudest thing a therapist can do during a session? Kae Kurd found out and tells a belter of a story in this episode all about it. This quite brilliant Brilliant Things takes in perverts watching Panda sex, it covers the beauty of Rottweilers and there’s even a bit of perineum sunning in there for good measure.  Kae Kurd is a fantastic British-Kurdish comedian and gives incredible insigh...

Russell gets his tarot reading live on the podcast! The guest this week is Emma Gannon, the the Sunday Times bestselling author judge for the prestigious 2025 Women's Prize. Between 2016-2023 she hosted Ctrl Alt Delete, one of Britain’s most successful industry podcasts. She is seen as many as the quintessential voice of the millennial generation. Emma and Russell talk about fascinating areas of u...

Did Tom Kerridge save a chef’s life by putting him in a gigantic fridge? It’s quite possible. But why? It’s all in today’s culinary chinwag.  Tom Kerridge brings his Five Brilliant Things, and as you might expect from a chef it takes in some of life’s extremes. There’s an incredible retelling of what it’s like to be on a racing car grid, and Tom’s tales of his old drinking days are the stuff of le...

It’s the Taskmaster’s Assistant, Alex Horne! And he’s here to tell his Brilliant things and as you would probably expect it’s a complete delight.  Did you think birdwatching was boring? Guess again! Failing to see the majesty of the French Horn? Let Alex enlighten your ass! Alex brings an array of delights in an episode that will fly by and leave you with that cosy feeling in your guts. I probably...

What’s it like to be hunted by the son of a murderous Libyan dictator? Spoiler: it’s not a Brilliant Thing, but it is an incredible story from this week’s guest Spencer Matthews.  There are tales of desert marathons, growing up on an island paradise and what it’s like when reality TV thrusts you into fame before you’re necessarily ready for it… A fascinating chat that goes in many interesting dire...

Nina Conti, ventriloquist supreme, her with the monkey, is in the studio (no monkey) and chooses some incredible brilliant things (the density of an atom’s nucleus! The orange of the inside of an eyelid!). It’s a privileged ramble through the brain of an artist. Please enjoy. 🐵 Ninaontour.com is where you can find out about Nina's extended tour dates for Autumn 2025 including five dates at the Du...

How do you go from being a young sex columnist to a nationally acclaimed restaurant reviewer? Food writer, broadcaster, jazz pianist and egg fanatic Jay Rayner is here. If you have even a passing interest in anything foodie, there’s so much in here for you. New ways of loving tinned fish, the dark arts of restaurant reviewing, and a noble attempt by Russell to convert Jay into a football fan. Did...