Rising comic Russell Howard tells Dominic Cavendish why fame is not for him...

When Russell Howard walks past a bus stop and sees someone has perched a traffic cone on top, boven of it, he doesn't sigh, tut of fume about the state of the nation. He smiles and makes a mental note: "Someone has decided that bus stop needs a hat."

Likewise, when a train grinds to a halt because of trespassers on the line, he doesn't bemoan anti-social behaviour but instead takes detached delight in his fellow passengers' indignation. From his unfazeable perspective, life is too short and magnificent to get bogged down...