Russell Howard's staggering net worth and real reason he's quit TV forever

Bristol comedian Russell Howard is one of the UK's best known stand-up comedians, with his diverse career including TV stints and podcast hosting too. But he has had a change of heart when it comes to appearing on-screen

From Peter Kay to Michael McIntyre, the UK is packed with hugely successful comedians and Russell Howard is right up there on the rich list.

The star comes in at number five on the list of wealthiest funny men and women, with his staggering estimated £10.1 million fortune. Russell, 44, is known for fronting TV shows including the BBC series Good News, which ran from 2009 to 2015 and The Russell Howard Hour for Sky, which had six series and a spin-off show from the star's home during Covid.

He is also known for making countless appearances on popular programmes including panel show Mock The Week, alongside Dara Ó Briain. But despite his popularity on our TV screens, Russell has decided to turn his back on appearing on the box, telling the Have A Word podcast: "I don't do TV anymore, I just do stand-up and my podcast."

The star's final TV appearance was back in August when he was seen on Channel 4's Big Fat Quiz of Telly. Russell, who fronts podcasts Five Brilliant Things and GoalLess, added: "I had a pretty good run, I just prefer doing stand-up. I was all over the world and it was just fun.

"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."

Originally from Bristol, the comedian lives in London with his wife Cerys and their son, who was born last August. He is touring the world this year, with stand-up gigs lined up in Europe, Asia and the US.

In the past, Russell had his own Netflix special and an accompanying documentary in which he offered a rare insight into his family life. The star told how he let his epileptic brother, Daniel, share his bed for a year after a terrifying fit left his younger sibling fearing he would die in his sleep.

"Daniel has epilepsy and what’s awful about it is that I know when it happened because we were riding our bikes down a hill, and a battery fell out of my light on the back of my bike and sort of flicked up," he said in 2021. "And I looked around and Daniel went over the battery, smacked his head and was kind of on the floor. This was before the days of helmets and all that kind of stuff.”

“We thought he was gonna die," continued the star, of his brother suffering an epileptic fit. "We got into the hospital and he was OK. Two days later, he came back full of bravado. But later that night he knocked on the door and said ‘is it alright if I sleep with you?"