Richard Herring
He turns mild pedantry into an endurance sport.
2 specials · 2015–2016
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Richard Herring does not really write setups and punchlines. He builds inescapable logic traps, usually with himself as the victim. He will latch onto a minor historical detail and argue it, refusing to concede the point long past any reasonable limit. He spends his time on stage wearing an expression of mild exasperation. When the crowd grows quiet during a highly specific tangent, he doesn’t try to win them back by speeding up. He digs his heels in, defending a terrible pun with the certainty of a stubborn man who knows he is losing.
Specials
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Richard Herring abandons grand concepts for an hour of deliberate pettiness.
Go Faster Stripe · 75 min
On stage
In the UK, he is a pioneer of comedy podcasting. His flagship interview show, RHLSTP, fills theaters and shapes how most people encounter him. Yet live standup remains his engine. He spent over a decade writing a new, heavily themed solo hour every year for the Edinburgh Fringe, earning a massive live following through sheer repetition.
The material works best when the stakes are low and his indignation is high. He will spend twenty minutes debating the mechanics of a yogurt advert, turning small grievances into long, petty arguments. The flip side of this stubbornness is that when a premise doesn’t click, you are still strapped in for the whole ride. He relies entirely on his willingness to push a bit past its natural limit. That pedantic streak drives the act, mirroring a side project where he plays himself at snooker in his basement. He forces the room to sit through the minutiae until the endurance itself becomes the punchline.
Turning points
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Creation of Alan Partridge on Radio
While working on Armando Iannucci's satirical radio series On the Hour, Herring and Stewart Lee helped write and establish the character of Alan Partridge.
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Cancellation of BBC Partnership with Stewart Lee
After a BBC management reshuffle cancelled This Morning With Richard Not Judy, Herring transitioned out of his long-running double act into solo standup.
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2008–2012
Pioneering Independent Comedy Podcasting
Herring embraced digital broadcasting through The Collings and Herrin Podcast and later RHLSTP, winning multiple Chortle Internet Awards and achieving independent commercial viability.
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2020–2021
Testicular Cancer Diagnosis and Creative Recovery
Diagnosed with testicular cancer during the pandemic lockdown, Herring turned the experience into his book and stand-up tour 'Can I Have My Ball Back?'.
At a glance
Fans also like
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Stewart LeeHerring's long-time comedy partner in the double act Lee and Herring, collaborating across radio, television, and live fringe shows for over a decade.
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Steve CooganContemporary from the alternative comedy boom who worked alongside Herring on On the Hour and the Edinburgh sketch show 'the dum show'.
Podcasts
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Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast · host
A long-running flagship interview show recorded in London and on tour where Herring interviews prominent comedy figures and celebrities.
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The Collings and Herrin Podcast · co-host
A pioneering independent conversational podcast hosted with journalist Andrew Collins featuring unscripted and uncensored banter.
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Talking Cock · host
An eleven-episode podcast accompanying his national stand-up tour exploring male sexuality and themes from his book.
Also on screen
- 1995–1996
- Fist of Fun
- 1998–1999
- This Morning With Richard Not Judy
- You Can Choose Your Friends
- 2017–2022
- Relativity
- Taskmaster