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

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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

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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’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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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Fascinating, delightful company. That’s what Historian Dan Snow is. I suppose the skill of any historian worth their salt is to use that historical knowledge and make it relevant today, and this endlessly interesting podcast does exactly that. Dan’s passions go way beyond history, drawing in sailing tall ships, democracy and most importantly of all, his greatest passion beyond all other things: GHERKINS.

📖 Dan’s treatment of history is available to us all through History Hit: A series of podcasts and documentaries about all different periods of history, arranged into clever and neat topics and original angles. You can explore the whole catalogue through that link, or you can search for ‘History Hit’ on your podcast app to find all the many channels they run. This writer listens to them. It’s good stuff.  📖

🎟️ The Good Ship Russell Howard has set sail! 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 here we are. At the end of the history of this particular blurb. We have seen empires (sentences) rise and fall yet we have endured like some kind of literary Roman Empire. But we all know how that ended. 😬

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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Tom Rosenthal is a comedian with a deep interest in all things: His Brilliant Things include The Danish Gambit, The Golden Ratio and Trip Reports. This is a repeatedly fascinating conversation where Tom is completely unguarded and enthusiastic in his descriptions of these corners of humanity. He also conjures, from nowhere, the most outstanding improvised acid trip you’ll ever hear. It’s well worth your time. 

We talked about it on the show; Tom’s latest show is out on tour. It’s called ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am’. 

You can find out when Tom is near you, and get your hands on those tickets by going to https://tomrosenthal.net

Also there are still a handful of tickets left for Russell’s brand new tour show ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’. There are shows across the whole UK in 2026: You can book tickets at https://www.russell-howard.co.uk

Well played, you have acquitted yourself throughout reading this blurb with great dignity. It speaks volumes of your character that you’ve made it this far and are still willing to read this guff. Have a special sticker. 

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