Russell Howard is good news

Russell Howard's Good News

BBC Three

Comedians have sort of taken over the world in recent years.

Somehow they went from being poor penniless stand-ups performing gigs in little-known, sticky-floored pub back rooms to being superstars seemingly over night.

And they've all got TV to thank for it.

Thanks to quiz shows like 8 out of 10 Cats and panel shows like Mock The Week, some stand-ups are now on a par with rock stars, playing to sell-out arena crowds and – in the case of Jason Manford at least – indulging in the kind of private life which tends to be most commonly associated with a Premiership footballer.

But in a world where the comic is king, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. One stand-up who – in my opinion at least – has never had any problem standing out is Russell Howard.

The cheeky West Country chap opened the fifth series of his Good News show on BBC3 last night, paying homage to the age-old saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Following a little-changed format, the show sees Russell take a light-hearted look at recent events which have dominated the news headlines.

He also – somewhat bizarrely – meets a "personality" from the news and has to guess who they are. In this week's case it was the Yeovil Ninja – a man who apparently spends his spare time skulking around in bushes for the greater good of humanity.

I'll be honest here on this one – it's a news story that must have passed me by.

Some of Russell's subjects are easier to tackle than others – for example last night's show featured real news stories about animals who were banned from making any noise at night, talking litter bins, some students who are selling advertising space on their faces and a footballer who was made the face of a fireworks safety campaign after setting fire to his own house with one.

Oh yeah, and Manchester United's 6-1 defeat by rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford the other day which, let's face it, would make anyone laugh out loud (except for Manchester United fans, of course).

Seriously? I mean the gags practically write themselves. But where Russell really excels is managing to make jokes about hard news stories such as the evictions at Dale End farm in Essex and Colonel Gaddafi's death in Libya.

They're not easy subjects to tackle, and it's certainly not a show for the easily offended – or for the children, really – but you have to admire the young comic for being prepared to take on such tough subjects and trying to turn them into gags.

You could describe this show as bad taste, dismiss it as inappropriate or you could lighten up and have a laugh.

But there's so much bad news in the world, I think Russell's got the right idea.

By Amy Burns