Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things

Join our Patreon for two shows a week, ad-free listening, early access and much more... Follow this link and get involved! - patreon.com/RussellHoward Each week Russell sits down with fantastic guests to chat about their Brilliant Things; the items, places and people that make life worth living.

Episodes

July 8, 2025 56 mins
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 was like to canoe around the Britis...
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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 is just an extra bit for the i...
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July 1, 2025 65 mins
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 weirdness and she reveals just how gruel...
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June 25, 2025 64 mins
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 bloody loves mayonnaise.  A delightfu...
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June 17, 2025 60 mins
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 these good things. Jordan also te...
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June 10, 2025 62 mins
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 Theatre in London. If you can go...
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June 6, 2025 53 mins
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 every seventeen days for our liste...
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June 3, 2025 59 mins
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 in Norfolk, Greylag Geese, his t...
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May 27, 2025 68 mins
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 come out amused, invigorated and...
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May 20, 2025 58 mins
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 a copy here.  💿 🎤 They’ve...
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May 13, 2025 64 mins
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 a dog track and the dos and don’...
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May 6, 2025 63 mins
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 insight into what it’s like gigging a...
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April 29, 2025 63 mins
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 unlocking creativity, making time...
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April 22, 2025 69 mins
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 legend. Please do enjoy.  Do you wa...
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April 15, 2025 67 mins
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 should have used a more poetic wor...
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April 8, 2025 61 mins
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 directions. 🏋️‍♀️ You can hear more ...
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April 1, 2025 60 mins
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 Duke of York’s Theatre in London fro...
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March 25, 2025 63 mins
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 he leave wearing a scarf and hat m...
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March 19, 2025 64 mins
What family game is Rose Ayling-Ellis banned from playing in her own home? Find out in the first ever podcast appearance by the actor and Strictly Come Dancing champion! Rose takes Russell through the majesty of playing Catan, eating Posh Crisps and how the pandemic had a weird side-benefit for the deaf community.  It’s a great fun hour and well worth your time. In this episode there’s a lot of chat about British Sign Language…...
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March 11, 2025 68 mins
Is Russell a Paladin, a Warlock or a Rogue? Scottish comedy powerhouse Daniel Sloss introduces Russell to his world of D & D with his customary passion and flair. He also sings the praises of sneezes, and makes a convincing case for self-medicating in airports.  Daniel Sloss fans who are waiting for a new show, well you are in luck. He’s working up material now for his next tour, so if you live in Scotland you’ll be able to see hi...
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