Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things

One of Britain’s favourite actors, from The Royle Family, Two Pints of Lager, Death in Paradise and so, so much more - Ralf Little has brought his Five Brilliant Things in to the studio and this one’s a cracker!

Ralf has found himself in some extraordinary situations thanks to his acting, and each of the Brilliant Things he talks about prompts another fantastic yarn told with such fluency and charm: From a game of five-a-side with an England Football Legend, to flying around the globe and finishing off in a remarkably heart-felt and moving end place for the show. Recommend! 

Ralf is next starring alongside Simon Pegg, Amanda Abbington and many other big names in the hotly anticipated Channel 4 mystery thriller ‘Hunting Alice Bell’. 

The six-part series written by David Baddiel will be on C4 this Autumn so keep your eyes on that, or catch it on Channel 4’s on demand by going to channel4.com 

That is everything we have for you this week, hope your umbrellas have stayed intact, please stay warm, dry and full of toast. 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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Current Taskmaster contestant and musical comedian Isy Suttie is here and you’d imagine that she would have oodles of brilliant things…and she does!

Adrian Mole features for the first time ever on the show, and Isy talks through the unbeatable feeling and potential that comes with a brand new ball of wool (that ends up in a tale of tragedy turned triumph regarding a dinosaur cardigan…). It’s a feel-good show with a strong vein of craft running through it. There’s only one mention of nose hair too. 

Isy is one of the contestants in the latest series of Taskmaster! You can watch it on Channel 4, or on their catch-up, or look for clips on social media. To keep up to date with all of Isy’s upcoming projects and exciting plans, follow her on Instagram where she’s @IsySuttie. 

That’s all! Toody doody doo! 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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One of the leading lights of Irish comedy: it’s Catherine Bohart and she brings bucketloads of her trademark charm and wit into the podcast studio. 

I mean it’s worth coming for the Hockey Smut alone. Catherine wrestles with her new found passion for racy Ice Hockey fantasies. We then take a violent turn into the less racy but arguably healthier world of porridge. And you won’t want to miss Catherine trying to explain to Russell the art of Irish hospitality - working like a dog then pretending that it was nothing. 

Catherine has extended her latest tour ‘Borrowing Trouble’ and you should for sure go and get a ticket and get involved. She’s got a handful of dates across the UK and Ireland and you can find them all, and book tickets by going to https://www.catherinebohart.com/ 

You can also find there videos, podcasts and all those other things that you might quite rightly expect to find on a comedian’s website. 

Thank you for your indulgence, it has been noted. TO THE SPURTLE!

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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Welcome to September's Moments of the Month. In case you’re new here, this is a compilation show with a little flavour of each guest we’ve enjoyed this month, but not the whole show.

Then if you like the taste of any of them you can double-back and listen to the whole episode. It’s a good way to discover someone you would never have thought of clicking on before. 

First up we’ve got the vintage star of stage and screen, comedian Brian Conley.

Then we had one of the best one-liner comics in the business - Mark Simmons.

Following that was one of the most fascinating and quirky comedians on the circuit - Alisdair Beckett King.

Then Russell sat down with the pop icon Natasha Bedingfield.

And lastly it was the legend of British comedy, reflecting on his life on stage and trying to change the world - Alexei Sayle.

So there we go! That’s a little taste of what September was like. All of those shows are available in full right now, so if you got a taste for it, go and get some more.

Thanks as always for listening and there will be a new show, as usual, this coming Wednesday. 

Byeeee!

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He’s one of the breakout stars of SNL UK and a sketch and comic actor of the highest calibre - it’s George Fouracres! 

George’s Brilliant Things are signs of an inquisitive and sideways brain, for example ‘roads’ are definitely brilliant but maybe the rest of us take them for granted? Likewise the month of September. It’s not for everyone but George makes a bloody good case as to why it’s A Brilliant Thing. Please have a delve around, audio-wise and enjoy what is definitely in our top three Midlands-focussed episodes of the show. 

George is starring in the latest season of SNL UK on Sky right now, so if you’ve got Sky then get involved, and if you haven’t…well…you could get it? Or you can enjoy the clips across social media of all kinds. 

For all of George’s other work, you can keep up with him by following him on the old Instagrams, where he’s @fowerairkers 

And that, as the old saying goes, is that. Hope you have a lovely week and make sure to take advantage of all of those lovely opportunities that come your way. Xxx

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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One of the forefathers of modern British Stand-up comedy, Alexei Sayle sits down with Russell to talk through his brilliant things and they show sides to Alexei that demonstrate the forces in him that make him such an interesting voice; nobody else has chosen both a poem and a gun among their brilliant things!

It’s a fascinating interview, not taken in a rush, that goes from demonstrations to Alexei’s formative years and his ill-fated experiments in Hollywood. 

Alexei’s latest book is called ‘How I’ve Tried to Change the World (by walking down the middle of the street shouting’)’ - and as you will have heard in the show, it’s a record of his life through the various demos he’s attended. It’s written with his trademark beautiful prose style and humour and it’s definitely a cracking read. 

You can order it in hardback by clicking here. Or use your local independent bookshop.

That’s it for today. Toodle-pip! 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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The pop megastar is in the studio and her brilliant things are as wholesome as you might hope; a swim through the importance of connecting with nature, the vitality of comedy and there’s a fascinating chat about the creative process. Oh! And chocolate.

Natasha’s new single ‘Dot Dot Dot’ is out now and it’s an absolute banger; the kind of upbeat, optimistic pop that has earned Natasha a place among the greats. You can hear it, buy it and find so much more music at natashabedingfield.com 

You can also follow Natasha on Insta where she’s @natashabedingfield.

Enjoy these final late summer days, listen to some music, walk your dog unless you don’t have a dog in which case steal a dog and walk that dog.

Bye!

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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ALASDAIR BECKETT-KING

A tremendous comedian with a distinct voice (and hair) and a talent for making some of the best videos to ever grace the internet - it’s the unstoppable ABK! 

A man like Alasdair, with an interest in life’s niches, was always going to produce a good episode of Five Brilliant Things, but who knew it would be this good? We career from things you definitely can touch (rocks) to things you definitely can’t (strippers - only joking - ghosts actually) and it’s just the kind of focussed, funny bimbling that was the reason podcasts were invented.

And until late November, ABK is touring his latest full-length show ‘King of Crumbs’. It’s great, you should most certainly go if he’s in your area, and to find out if he will be in your area at a time that works for you, go to abeckettking.com where all the tour dates and booking links may be found. Also you can check out his utterly incredible online videos too. 

There we go. Another week’s listening pleasure parcelled up and delivered into your ear. X

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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Mark Simmons, one of the sharpest joke writers in the country (maybe the world? Maybe the universe?) is here and his five brilliant things give an insight into the man behind the gags. From Taekwondo tournaments to Wrestling and the thrills of Mr Miyagi, you can see that his discipline in joke-writing comes from a deep love of Eastern sports and arts. And…um…wrestling?

Mark is about to start the Autumn leg of his ‘Jest to Impress’ tour, and basically you won’t get more jokes per pound spent at any other show. He’s a terrific comedian and you should go. 

You can get tickets and find all the dates at https://marksimmons.co.uk

Do you want to watch his last special ‘Quip off the Mark’? It’s on the website. Free.

You want to listen to his podcast ‘Jokes’? It’s on the website. ALSO FREE!

Lucky ducks. So much Mark Simmons so little time. 

I’m off to watch a load of Mark Simmons. There’s so much there I’ll barely have finished by next week. Taraaaaa! 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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Brian Conley has been one of the biggest names in UK comedy and theatre for the past generation. From being the biggest comedian on TV to the most in-demand stage performer, he’s done it all. Come in and listen to a fascinating chat between Russell and Brian, two comics who sit, and have sat, at the top of their game at different periods in history. 

As we spoke about on the show, Brian has just competed in Celebrity Hunted on Channel 4, and you can watch the whole series, including his victorious final show on the Channel 4 player right now! Link is here or you can just search for it when you get back to your big telly. 

The Prat Pack also have some September shows which are selling fast - find out more about that by going here.

And this is where we part company. I’ll see you in next week’s blurb no doubt. We MUST stop meeting like this.

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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