Russell Howard has announced that his baby son died earlier this year, just hours after being born.
The UK comedian confirmed this news in a statement, saying that his son Felix died hours after his wife Cerys had given birth, saying that they face "unimaginable heartache" and described it as "the most devastating time of our lives".
Howard also paid tribute to the hospital staff for their "extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity", who cared for them over the period which followed following their son's death.
On social media, Howard wrote: "During our time in hospital, Felix was placed in a cool cot, which meant that my wife and I were able to spend precious hours with our beautiful boy".
"We could hold him, talk to him and tell him how much we loved him. Those hours are among the most precious memories we have of Felix".
The comic revealed that he and his wife were assigned a bereavement midwife named Lauren, who had also suffered a similar tragedy and had retrained in order to help other families.
"Her care meant more to us than we could ever put into words," Howard said. "We were overwhelmed by the care we received, and we made a promise to each other: that we would try to help other families who find themselves facing the same devastating circumstances".
A message from Russell about The Felix Foundation @TheFelixFDN
To find out more visit https://t.co/KpeFvNHcr2 pic.twitter.com/MHL2Q4zA9j— Russell Howard (@russellhoward) September 4, 2026
Russell Howard has also announced that a new foundation in honour of their late son's name was also launched, in order to help families going through similar ordeals, with a comedy fundraiser taking place later this year.
The fundraiser, The Felix Foundation, will aim to help families who have experienced miscarriages, premature birth, related bereavement, or neonatal death.
The event, titled the Stand-Up Gala will be held at London's O2 Arena, with Jimmy Carr, Michael McIntyre, Aisling Bea, Mo Gilligan and John Bishop among the list of comedians performing at the show.
Howard also added that he would "never forget the generosity" of his fellow comics, who were giving their time to the show "completely free of charge".
