Russell Howard

Yay, Graham's back and once again there is a reason to stay in on Friday nights. He's terrific, and has injected bright new life into the post-news chat-show slot vacated by you-know-who last year. I love the dynamic of the Norton sofa, where guests turn up en masse rather than separately, which leads to some funny and occasionally weird interaction, or lack of interaction (remember a worried-looking Maggie Gyllenhaal staring in bafflement at comedian Russell Howard?). So far in Norton's reign, my favourite odd couples are big, smiley Hollywood hunk Bradley Cooper, who took a shine to our own Jo Brand, and one of tonight's guests, Catherine Tate, who was "romanced" by rapper 50 Cent the last time she appeared. Tate, last seen as Howard Donald in Comic Relief's Fake That, joins her old mucker and former Doctor Who, David Tennant. Grammy Award nominee Josh Groban provides the music.

This week's edition of Good News had something for everyone. If you like Russell Howard, you will no doubt find this particular episode up to his usual standard. If you don't like Howard you'll get the joy of seeing him being beaten up by an old lady: if only more pensioners practiced martial arts then the world would be a happier place.

The thing with this series is that it's not the most satirical show in the world. It touches on some big topics covered in the news, but it's always in a light-hearted manner. Most of the time it's trivial human interest stories which he mocks, including clips from online and around the world.

Indeed there is quite a lot of garbage out there which is ripe for mocking, from newspaper stories devoted to a house that looks like Adolf Hitler to the TV coverage given to a man who showers with a squirrel.

Interestingly, quite a bit of this week's edition was disturbing and a little frightening. The budget lady-boy airline sketch might have mentally scarred many, as would have the excerpt from Rebecca Black's 'Friday' (I've been trying my hardest not to listen to that stupid song. To be honest, I put it on mute rather than listen to it in case it really is as horrible as people claim it to be.)

The best thing about Good News, though, is fittingly the good news story at the end, in this case about an Indian cook who gave up his job to feed the homeless. It really is good to see some news is treated with the respect and airtime it should be given, and Howard really does capture that well.

And it's certainly arguable that the laid-back and fun approach of Russell Howard's Good News is one of the best forms of satire, along with the harder hitting, informed, Mark Thomas style of satirical comedy and activism. That's possibly why 10 O'Clock Live does nothing for me. It just sits in the middle - trying to be hard-hitting but failing to do so - and loses viewers because of it.

Russell Howard's Blog News

Want to submit a story to the new series of Russell Howard's Good News? The production team have message for you...

This simple, but seemingly effective, comedy/current affairs series is now into its fourth series. Russell Howard is an award-winning comedian who has been on the panel show circuit for years, regularly popping up on Mock the Week and the like. His humour is best described as straightforward - few of his jokes tax the brains of his viewers too much and they're often easy to predict. However, he certainly has his moments and last year Good News's ratings reached 3.5 million viewers, which is huge for a digital channel like BBC Three. Tonight he returns to give his take on the week's news stories.

Russell Howard: 'I wouldn't go near Japan, unless...'

Russell Howard's Good News, dedicated to putting a quirky spin on current affairs, is back. The comic tells Dominic Cavendish his take on 'the Gaddafi situation' and the earthquake in Japan.

Comedians re-create childhood photos

Take a dozen comedians, add some snaps from the family album, mix them all up and what do you get? Featuring Alan Carr, Miranda Hart, Greg Davies, Jessica Hynes, Sarah Millican, Dom Joly, Jason Byrne, Shappi Khorsandi, Chris Addison, Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard and Jon Holmes.

Russell Howard talks about his sell-out O2 gig

Comedian Russell Howard comes to the O2 Arena in Greenwich for the first time this week, performing two sell-out gigs. He talks to reporter Jasmine Coleman about going from the comedy club circuit to the big stage and screen.

You could make a good argument that 2010 was the best year for a while in TV comedy. Harry Hill and Benidorm scaled new heights on ITV. The Inbetweeners brought E4 its biggest audience yet. On BBC2 a string of quirky sitcoms (The Trip, Grandma's House, Rev, Roger & Val Have Just Got In) felt like the stirrings of a new wave. And the likes of Michael McIntyre, John Bishop and Russell Howard made ever larger numbers of people rock with laughter just by standing on a stage, talking. So there's plenty for the annual prize-giving to mull over as Jonathan Ross calls the assembled funny-folk to order at the 02 in London. On past form, Ross will kick the evening off with a laboured and overlong routine of his own, despite being the 43rd best stand-up in the room, then he'll strive to keep order as a procession of writers, actors and comics seize both their trophies and the chance to be cheeky on live TV. And on past form, it should be a blast.

Video - Five Minutes With: Russell Howard

Comedian Russell Howard talks to Matthew Stadlen about what inspires his material, how he prepares for big arena shows, the importance of self-deprecating humour and why he owes his career to a banana.