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 too. 

You can get those tickets, and do everything you ever wanted to do that’s Dara-adjacent by going to https://daraobriain.com

🎟️ And please do go to see Russell while he’s on tour with his latest show that’s busting out some rave reviews: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

Thanks for coming, please respect our neighbours when you leave.

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 around the UK. You can keep up to date with everything at https://andrewmensahcomedy.com

Andrew hosts his hugely popular weekly comedy podcast ‘We Saw That’ alongside Gbemi Oladipo. They record live shows at the Top Secret Comedy Club in London then that becomes the podcast. You can listen/watch for free, or get tickets to see the live recordings by following this link. 

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is well underway with rave reviews: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

It’s the end of this week’s show so please get out there and enjoy the sunshine. You may be out there already, in which case get your eyes off this phone and look up - but not directly at the sun, obviously - and have a marvellous day. Byeeeeeee. 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 (alongside Joel Dommett) are on a journey launching their new skincare brand. You can follow their progress by listening to their podcast ‘The Business Men’. 

You can take the skincare questionnaire by clicking here.

🎭 Also keep an eye out for Ben’s live show with Kammy - they are touring UK venues doing a few select shows over 2026. Find out more and book tickets by clicking here. 🎭

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is well underway with rave reviews: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

Thanks for your continued ears and eyeballs. They are appreciated very much, please keep them inside your head. 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 live, but raw sounded so much more exciting).  

Pierre  will be touring across the UK and Ireland throughout 2026 with his critically acclaimed show, ‘You Sit There, I’ll Stand Here’ – all dates and tickets available at www.pierrenovellie.com 🎭

🎟️ And of course, Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is well underway with rave reviews: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

And there we go! The desolate end of the blurb. It’s just you and me now. Like the last two Wildebeest on the savannah, we watch each other warily, both realising simultaneously that although we are in terrible danger having strayed so far from the herd, there is also beauty in the vast silence of the savannah. I close my eyes to fully appreciate this existential moment, and you take advantage and run like hell. I become dinner for a pride of lions. Fair enough.

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 a taster and all full episodes are available wherever you found this one.

Back with a new full episode next Wednesday. Until then!

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 without wings. 

🎭 SHANE’S OFF ON TOUR! His latest massive tour is called ‘Hold Me Back’ and it’s going all over the UK, Ireland and the World throughout 2026. Get tickets and see this remarkable young comic at his best - https://www.shanetoddcomedy.com 🎭

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is well underway with rave reviews: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

And so the blurb endeth. What are you still doing here staring at a screen? The weather has changed! You should be out there frolicking in the buff, shocking bus stops full of unsuspecting people with your magnificent buttocks. Go! 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 debut UK tour, Clout, for the second time to 100 dates with more shows added in Autumn 2026. Stevie kicks off her 2026 tour dates with an already sold-out performance at The Glee Birmingham on Tuesday 3rd March, with the tour now running till October. Full dates and tickets: https://steviemartin.com/🎭

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is well underway with rave reviews: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

And here ends your weekly recommended dose of blurb reading. I know it feels hard-going but you’ll start to see the benefits someday soon. You’ll have a frontal-lobe that’s so large people will start to avoid you in the street and make babies cry. That’s what you wanted, right? RIGHT?

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 the UK with his new show ‘Harry Enfield and No Chums’!

From the meteoric rise of Loadsamoney, a Thatcherite Visionary, to the fury of Kevin the Teenager, Harry will reflect on 40 years of arsing about in comedy and bring some of his favourite characters vividly back to life on stage. You can find out the dates and get tickets by following this link. 🎭

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is starting its grand journey across the UK: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

There we are! A classic episode for the ages. Dunno if you’re reading this before or after listening, but either way thanks for being one of the weirdos that reads to the end. You know it’s just you and me at this point, right? Only two of us. But at least we have each other. Xxx

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 finishing touches to her brand new tour ‘Thanks for Having Me’. Tickets are about to go on sale, and may well even be there by the time you read this. Check and re-check https://amygledhill.co.uk/live-dates to find out the dates and get the tickets. 🎫

📻 Also get into those podcasts - Amy is on Northern News with Ian Smith, and on Single Ladies in your Area with Harriet - get either of them by searching for them on your podcast app. Both are freely available with many episodes to catch up on. What a treat! 📻

🎟️ YOU WANT MORE LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is starting its grand journey across the UK: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

Thanks for being here, thanks for being you, but now it’s time for you to leave. Bye!

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 an History of Britain’s Kings and Queens; but less funny hats and pageantry and more treachery, incest and murder.  It’s called ‘Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee’ and it’s also illustrated by Jim Moir, who you probably know better as Vic Reeves. Anyway it’s fascinating and funny and it’s available from bookshops or online now, or you can just follow this link 📖

🎟️ YOU WANT LIVE COMEDY? Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’ is starting its grand journey across the UK: Don’t miss this fantastic show of all brand-new material. Find out more at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk 🎟️

And like the Voyager Space Probe, this blurb continues its endless journey into the void long past the point where anyone can receive it, and long past the point where anyone cares about it. Just bibbling its way aimlessly into the darkness, without purpose, getting slowly smaller and further away. 🛸

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices