(Though there are still 1.4billion who haven't seen him...)

Russell Howard has claimed the record for the biggest ever stand-up show in China.

The comic played to a near sell-out 938 people in the Yihai Theatre, Shanghai, as part of his Round The World tour last night.

Promoters Live Nation say the previous Chinese record was Russell Peters with 920 last year.

Such figures might not seem much out of a population of 1.4billion, but Western-style stand-up has not traditionally been part of the Chinese culture. When Louis CK played a secret gig in Beijing in 2012 it was to about 120 people, although a number of clubs have opened up in recent years.

Comedy shows in China are usually illegal without a performance licence, which the regime can use to regulate what is said. Before his Shanghai gig, Howard spoke of having to submit his intended script to censors at The Ministry of Culture.

'I feel sorry for the poor guy in the government having to go through all my jokes, like "Oi guys! What’s a lollipop man?", or, "Does anyone know what Quavers are?",' he told the South China Morning Post.

Earlier in the tour, Howard broke the record for the most consecutive solo performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall, with his 10 shows overtaking the eight jointly held by Frank Sinatra in the 70s and Barry Manilow in the 90s. The previous record for the most consecutive performances by comedians was six, shared by Victoria Wood and Billy Connolly.

Meanwhile, a clip from Howard's 2014 DVD Wonderbox has gone viral this week.

In it, he tells the story of promising a 14-year-old cancer victim called Deryn that he would go to his funeral... in a bizarre fancy dress costume.

The clip has been shared by the likes of Russell Crowe and Stephen Fry, helping it amass 4 million views.

Published: 26 May 2017