How a British comedian turned a Twitter habit into a massive charity fundraising engine

Countries & Cities · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Richard Herring is a prolific British comedian who has spent decades reinventing his craft, from pioneering comedy podcasts to performing fourteen distinct one-man shows. Beyond the stage, he has leveraged his digital presence to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity by playfully correcting misconceptions about International Men's Day.

Richard Herring, born in 1967, first gained prominence in the 1990s as part of the comedy duo Lee and Herring. Following their collaboration, he transitioned into a prolific career as a solo performer, creating fourteen stand-up shows between 2001 and 2017. His work often blends personal history with broader social commentary; for instance, his 2008 show The Headmaster's Son explored his upbringing in Somerset, while his 2009 show Hitler Moustache examined the history of the toothbrush moustache and the nature of fascism.

Herring is widely recognized as a pioneer of the comedy podcast format. His long-running Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast has featured high-profile guests like Stephen Fry and Dawn French, earning critical acclaim and multiple industry awards. His digital output is vast, ranging from a daily blog, Warming Up, which he has maintained since 2002, to experimental projects like playing snooker against himself on Twitch. In 2024, he moved his writing to Substack, where he quickly garnered over 10,000 subscribers.

His commitment to philanthropy is as consistent as his comedy. Since 2003, he has supported the charity Scope, eventually becoming a patron. Perhaps his most notable fundraising effort began in 2018, when he started responding to every Twitter user asking about International Men's Day by pointing out its actual date, November 19. This recurring campaign raised over £150,000 for the domestic abuse charity Refuge in its first year alone, with subsequent years generating significant additional funds. Herring has also been open about his personal health challenges, including his treatment for testicular cancer and hairy cell leukaemia, using his experiences to raise awareness and funds for medical causes.

The breadth of his career is documented in the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at the University of Kent, which holds a collection of his scripts and digital materials. From his early days in the Oxford Revue to his recent television successes like winning Taskmaster, Herring remains a central figure in modern British comedy, consistently finding new mediums to engage his audience.

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