Russell Howard

Review of Series 2 of Russell Howard's Good News

Russell Howard continues where he left off last series with his not-so-bad new run of news based comedy and stand-up.

Puppyish Russell Howard brings out the worst in many people. But, as we've said many times before, he's a good stand-up, so there are hits among the misses on this show. And the fact that the last series grew to be BBC3's highest rating entertainment programme ever hints he improved into the run - and it will be interesting to see how he handles the election. The Mystery Guest bit is rubbish though.

Good news for Russell Howard: he's already had a third series of this filmed-in-front-of-a-live-audience show commissioned, and we're only just starting the second one. Not that this excellent comedian needs much reassurance to buoy up his always vibrant stand-up. Expect more riffing on the week's news, then - and if you're the sort of bright young thing who must get involved, submit your own news stories via the web or through Twitter.

Russell Howard, the young blonde T-shirt-wearing one from Mock The Week, is back for a second series of his Good News show, BBC 3's best-performing entertainment show to date.

Once again filmed in front of a live studio audience, Russell takes a look at the major news stories of the week and casts, as they say, his "own unique perspective" on them. If you know that his website comes with the warning "Contains Adult Humour", you'll get the drift...

His legions of fans get the chance via Twitter or the website to contribute their own topical suggestions for the wacky, the weird or the plain-old-fashioned funny items which have also made it into the news.

Suggestions so far include the man who's made cheese out of his wife's breast milk, a surfing alpaca and residents in Wakefield successfully protesting to stop the local council changing the name of their local landmark, Tickle Cock Bridge.

Such is the show's popularity a third series has already been commissioned and will be aired later in the year. Russell's probably stocking up on T-shirts as we speak.

Russell Howard's Good News: Weak Mocking

Whether or not you'll like Russell Howard's Good News depends solely on whether or not you like Russell Howard.

A second series of the comedy written by and starring Andy Parsons continues to follow the exploits of the hapless Scrooby (Andy Parsons), a well-meaning but flawed young man who is desperately trying to better himself through his own website. This week, he tries to become an entrepeneur by misspending his inheritance. Dara O'Briain, Russell Howard, Hugh Dennis all also star - obviously they all had some time free between recording episodes of Mock the Week...

Comedy stars saddle up for charity ride

Comics David Walliams, Miranda Hart, Russell Howard, Jimmy Carr and Patrick Kielty, plus presenters Fearne Cotton and Davina McCall are to cycle the length of Britain in a bid to raise £1m for Sport Relief.

BBC Three orders up two more helpings of Good News

Following the huge success of his first series, Russell Howard will be returning to BBC Three with two more helpings of his topical news show.

More Good News!

Good news, Good News fans! Russell Howard's topical BBC Three show will return - and in just a month's time!

Frankie Boyle's been lanced, Russell Howard's wearing specs, but it's otherwise business as usual for satirical news quiz Mock The Week; a fusion of Have I Got News For You? and Whose Line Is It Anyway?, with irrelevant scoring and a weird mix of rounds that go from sitdown quiz to stand-up performances. It's all a mere conduit for ribpoking of the week's news stories, and MTW is perhaps more consistent than its contemporaries because four of the pannelists are regulars.

The downside of that consistency is that Hugh Dennis stopped being funny in the mid-'90s and Andy Parsons has never been funny, leaving host Dara O'Briain and Russell Howard to shoulder most of the comic burden. And, like a great many modern panel shows, a lot of guests just become glorified audience members, desperate to shoehorn in paraphrased segments of their standup material. This week, Mark Watson coped well as a guest (he's a veteran of this format), Patrick Kielty had the confidence to soldier through any difficulties he encountered, and while Milton Jones sometimes struggled to recycle his material appropriately, he at least didn't just sit back and do nothing. It helps that his stage persona is a spaced-out weirdo, so his weaker moments and slipups could be forgiven as part of his "act".