Falmouth course leader produces new podcast hosted by comedian Russell Kane
16 September 2025
Multi-award-winning comedy producer and Comedy Writing MA (Online) course leader Simon Nicholls has recently produced Evil Animals, a new podcast series for BBC Sounds hosted by renowned comedian Russell Kane.
Described by the BBC as the “feral sibling” of Kane’s hugely popular podcast series Evil Genius, the new podcast takes the ‘evil or genius?’ formula of the original series and applies it to animals (rather than famous figures from history). The opening episodes of Evil Animals take on hamsters, dolphins and cats, with future episodes set to voyage deep into the animal kingdom.
Packed with jokes and expert information from an array of special guests, Evil Animals has been met with critical acclaim since the first episode aired back in August; it was named as ‘podcast of the week’ by The Guardian, and the opening episode was lauded by Observer journalist Miranda Sawyer, referring to it as both “a hoot”and “a joy.”
About Simon Nicholls
Simon (pictured centre with Production Co-ordinator Liz Tuohy and Evil Animals host Russell Kane) is no stranger to producing successful audio comedy. With 20 years of industry experience and a string of awards and accolades to his name, he has also championed and successfully enabled new comedy writing talent throughout his career – and since 2020 as Falmouth’s Comedy Writing MA (Online) course creator and leader.
On his role as producer on Evil Animals, Simon told us: “I’ve had real fun making this show. I enjoy producing upbeat comedies and I think we’ve done that here – celebrating well-known animals in a surprising funny light. The reaction from the audience and the Press has almost made working weekends worth it.”
On how his industry prowess feeds into the course and students’ learning experience, he added: “There are plenty of courses out there led by people who’ve not worked in the industry or made shows. With over twenty years' experience as a TV and audio comedy producer, my goal is to build students’ writing skills and confidence but also get them savvy on how to best navigate the industry.”
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