Russell Howard to headline debut Ludlow Castle Comedy Festival

With ten comedians performing, Ludlow Castle Comedy Festival will offer a day of hilarious award-winning comedy from huge stars and fresh new talent set within the historic grounds of the Shropshire landmark.

Announced as the event’s headliners today is comedian, broadcaster and actor Russell Howard, a household name thanks to his contributions to panel shows such as Mock The Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats as well as his own hugely successful topical comedy shows Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC) and The Russell Howard Hour (Sky).

Howard will be joined at the top of the bill by Canadian comedian, broadcaster and writer Katherine Ryan, renowned for her razor-sharp wit and deadpan delivery, Ryan is a familiar face as a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats as well as regular appearances on shows including QI, Would I Lie To You?, Have I Got News For You? and more.

Joining them at Ludlow Castle next summer are larger than life actor, comedian and podcaster Tom Davis (King Gary, Murder in Successville, The Wolf & Owl Podcast); whipsmart stand up, broadcaster and author Joel Dommett (I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, The Masked Singer); the youngest ever winner of ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ and self-appointed poshest UK comedian Ivo Graham (Live At The Apollo, QI, Taskmaster); Phoenix Nights’ resident clairvoyant Clinton Baptiste and more, all in the capable hands of host Stephen Bailey.

Live At Ludlow Castle Series

Ludlow Castle Comedy Festival debuts next year as part of the Live At Ludlow Castle Series which, now entering its third year, has already seen unforgettable, sold-out headline performances from the likes of James, Elbow and Anne-Marie for thousands of fans year on year.

Next year's concerts will mark the second year in a five-year programming deal between Futuresound, the independent promoters behind the concert series and Ludlow Castle’s management team, with Live at Ludlow Castle running across two consecutive weekends for the first time thanks to the introduction of the comedy festival.

Founded by Ludlow man Colin Oliver, Leeds-based Futuresound have worked with Ludlow Castle on creating, establishing and realising the annual series of 6,000 capacity events since 2023 and the partnership is fully committed to establishing the iconic site as one of the UK’s premier outdoor venues for live music, comedy and more.

Wider variety of events

Andy Smith - Head of Live, Futuresound Group said:

“We are delighted to be introducing Ludlow Castle Comedy Festival next July as we prepare to run Live at Ludlow Castle across two consecutive weekends and build on our offering with a wider variety of events beyond music.

"With the event running over two weekends, we are beginning to explore the opportunities for adding community or charity focused events throughout the week using the event infrastructure in place within the castle grounds.

"Our first two sell-out years have given us a greater understanding of not just the demand regionally, but the impact the shows have upon the town, and we now feel we are in a position to deliver additional shows with minimal social impact and maximum benefit for Ludlow.”

Gemma England - General Manager, Ludlow Castle said:

“We are super excited to be hosting our first ever Comedy Festival as part of the Live at Ludlow Series 2025. Having learnt a lot in the last two years we are pleased to be offering something a little different that will complement our music events, and we now have the wonderful opportunity to develop ideas for community and charitable events which is so important to us”