Russell Howard has revealed that his baby son died shortly after birth.
The news has come to light as the comic is establishing a charity to support those affected by the death of children.
He explained via a statement:
Earlier this year, our family changed forever when our beautiful baby boy, Felix, died shortly after birth.
During the most devastating time of our lives, the hospital staff who cared for us showed extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity. They helped us navigate an unimaginable heartache and gave us support when we needed it most.
We were assigned a bereavement midwife, Lauren, who had experienced a similar tragedy. After losing her own baby, Lauren retrained as a midwife so that she could help other families going through what she had been through. Her care meant more to us than we can ever put into words.
During our time in hospital, Felix was placed in a cold 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 just how much we loved him. Those hours are among the most precious memories we have of Felix.
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.
And so, in Felix’s memory, we are establishing The Felix Foundation.
The foundation will aim to relieve the needs of parents, siblings and other close family members affected by miscarriage premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or related bereavement by:
– Supporting the additional training of midwives in specialist bereavement care, through yearly grants to enable them to access resources such as counselling qualifications.
– Funding resources to provide emotional support and practical assistance.
– Providing or funding dedicated rooms, facilities, equipment and resources within hospitals, maternity units, neonatal units and other appropriate healthcare settings, supporting the care, wellbeing and dignity of babies and their families.
– Providing information, guidance, signposting and other resources to affected families.
– Raising awareness of late miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal loss and related bereavement, and the support needs of affected families.
To launch the foundation, Howard has organsed a large gig at the O2 Arena on 8th February 2027. The line-up will include Aisling Bea, John Bishop, Jimmy Carr, Greg Davies, Mo Gilligan, Guz Khan, Michael McIntyre and Michelle Wolf.
Howard says: “Every single one of these incredible performers is giving their time completely free of charge. I will never forget their generosity. We would absolutely love it if you could join us for what promises to be a very special evening: a night of comedy, laughter and celebration, all in aid of a cause that means everything to our family.
“The Felix Foundation is named after our beautiful son. We miss him dearly, every single day, but we take some comfort in knowing that his name will stand for kindness, compassion and laughter, and that his legacy may help other families through the darkest moments of their lives.”
Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday 11th September, although members of Howard’s mailing list can access them on Wednesday 9th.
More details about the charity can be found via thefelixfoundation.co.uk
