It has been announced that Russell Howard's Good News, BBC Three's most successful entertainment show, will return twice in 2011 with a fourth series in the spring, and a fifth series following in the autumn.

Russell Howard said: "Thanks very much to everyone who watched the first 3 series, roll on 4 and 5!"

Meanwhile Karl Warner, the BBC's Executive Editor for Entertainment, said "Russell has proved series after series that he's one of the best stand-up comedians and performers in the country. We're thrilled to be working with him and the team throughout 2011."

The news of the new series is not much of a surprise, as Russell Howard's Good News has been growing into a huge hit for BBC Three. Since it made its debut in 2009, ratings have more than doubled, with the current series being watched by an average of 3.9 million across the week, with a peak of 1.4 million for a single showing - more than many of the comedies on the terrestrial channels manage. Additionally, Good News has performed particularly well online, regularly achieving the top spot on the 'Most Watched' chart on BBC iPlayer, across all BBC channels.

It is not yet known how the new series will impact on Howard's appearances on Mock the Week. The comedian had to miss many of the recording dates during the last series so he could work on Good News. Additionally in the spring, Howard is set to embark on a brand new arena tour, Right Here, Right Now. Following his previous sell-out UK arena tour, this will be his biggest tour yet, with multiple nights already sold out and additional dates added at some of the country's biggest venues, including London's O2 Arena. He has previously released two bestselling live DVDs, 2008's Russell Howard Live and 2009's Russell Howard Live - Dingledodies, which have sold over 431,000 copies and dominated the top 10 of the DVD comedy chart during both years of release. A DVD featuring the first series of Russell Howard's Good News is on sale now (buy).

The final episode of Series 3 is on BBC Three this Thursday. Digital channel Dave has bought the repeat rights to Russell Howard's Good News, and will begin broadcasting the show from Thursday 6th January.

Here is a short video featuring Howard announcing the new series...

View this clip on the BBC website

And here is a clip from last Thursday's show...