Russell Howard quits TV to concentrate on stand-up comedy and podcasts
Comedian Russell Howard has quit TV after 19 years as he wants to focus on performing stand-up and podcasting.
Russell Howard has quit TV after 19 years.
The 44-year-old comedian has hosted 'Russell Howard's Good News' and 'The Russell Howard Hour' for the BBC and Sky respectively while he was also a regular on panel show 'Mock the Week' but he is leaving television behind to focus on performing live stand-up and podcasting.
Russell – who made his final TV appearance on Channel 4's 'Big Fat Quiz of Telly' last August – told the Have A Word podcast: "I don't do TV anymore, I just do stand-up and my podcast.
"I had a pretty good run, I just prefer doing stand-up. I was all over the world and it was just fun."
The comic added that "there's nothing else I'd rather do" that putting together a comedy set and touring.
Russell explained: "TV is fun but it's not as fun. Writing a book I couldn't do because I don't want to sit and entertain myself but doing stand-up is what I love doing.
"It's not entertainment for committee, it's your dictatorship...
"The audience are like this brilliant jury that let you know through laughter whether it works or not."
The star revealed last year that he preferred to work on podcasts as he finds them a less restrictive form of media than television.
He told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "It's kind of easier, you can make better stuff and don't have the wait for someone to tell you you're allowed to do it. It's kind of punk rock, setting up a podcast. You basically put out your own album."
