Russell Howard has opened up about becoming a first-time dad, explaining why he’s cautious not to ‘misrepresent’ his child in stand-up comedy.
The comedian, 45, has revealed how he’s coping with parenting alongside wife Cerys Morgan since the arrival of their baby boy last May, having remained protectively tight-lipped on his son.
‘I’m surviving on three hours sleep. It makes gigs so much fun, because there’s a thrill that you could have a breakdown,’ Russell quipped while speaking to Chris and Rosie Ramsay on a recent episode of their Sh**ged Married Annoyed podcast.
‘I love being a parent but I’m so broken,’ he said, explaining: ‘We’ve been stand-ups forever, able to indulge and slept like teenagers until we’re 45 then suddenly we’ve got to get up at six, because someone’s going: “Daddy!”‘
Speaking with huge fondness for his son – whose name hasn’t been made public – the TV comedian said: ‘It’s the best thing in the world, and yet it’s tough.’
Russell then explained how he’s got reservations about telling anecdotes about his son on stage.
‘You have to be quite picky about the stuff you talk about as everything has been chatted about [on stage before]. I’ve zoned in on certain things when I think, I don’t think I’ve heard it,’ he said, continuing: ‘I also don’t want to misrepresent him. I’m quite protective with giving his name out, but I find him so funny. But I’m aware that wouldn’t be funny for everyone.’
The Russell Howard’s Good News host, who is embarking on a UK and Ireland stand-up tour in January, also worried about looking after his son alone for a weekend, as Cerys was heading off on a girls’ trip.
‘I’ve never had him for a whole weekend by myself,’ Russell revealed, explaining how the tot was sleeping ‘amazingly’ for four months, but has recently experienced a ‘wobble’.
Reflecting on fatherhood in an interview with The Times months after welcoming his son, Russell said: ‘Six months ago my evenings would have been spent getting ready to go out and perform in front of a thousand people, but now evenings find me sitting on the sofa watching TV with my son on my chest.
Russell Howard and wife Cerys Morgan’s relationship
Russell has been with NHS geriatric doctor Cerys Morgan since 2004.
They met when Russell was 21 and Cerys was 17, and the sister of his friend.
On New Year’s Eve 2018, Russell confirmed on Alan Carr’s Chatty Man that the pair were getting married.
Cerys and Russell got married in June 2019 in a quiet ceremony with family and friends.
On the Jonathan Ross Show, Russell revealed that he proposed in Japan.
He also said his family asked for photos with Greg Davies at the wedding not because he’s funny and famous, but because he’s tall.
‘I’m tired a lot. It’s funny, when you become a parent everybody compliments you on your baby, but they will freely turn to you and say that you look like s**t, that your face should be on a government watch list or something.
‘So I try to get sleep whenever I can. Right now, I need it.’
Earlier this year Russell announced he was quitting TV comedy for good after 19 years on screens since his first Mock The Week appearance in 2006.
‘There’s nothing on TV at the minute that I would like to do, that’s the frustrating thing,’ he explained to Metro days later.
‘I’ve been offered things that just don’t float my boat, but I don’t want to be on TV for TV sake.’
Meanwhile, stand-up comedy continues to tickle him, though his work will never be as intense as it once was.
‘I think going away on the road for days on end, those days are gone,’ he conceded, explaining how dad life is his main job now.
‘I’ve been doing this for so long. It’s so great being a dad. It’s really exciting reading his bedtime story and giving him a bath and going swimming with him, and all these kinds of fun things. So I’ll do stand-up around that, rather than making it everything,’ he said.
On the topic of parenting in the age of social media, Russell made a salient point: ‘The founders of these companies all say that they never let their children near their devices… There might be a clue there.
‘I’m just going to just play football. You can’t go wrong with football and books.’
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