From Ricky Gervais to Batman, you can't miss these celebrity records

From TV stars to social media icons, the world of showbiz is always buzzing with record-breaking activities. 

The past months were filled with celebrities achieving new records, holding their official certificates, reminiscing about their achievements, or setting their sights on possible future ones. 

That’s the case of British comedian and The Office star Ricky Gervais, who recently revealed that he will be returning to the Hollywood Bowl in 2025 after his record-breaking show in the Californian landmark.

The comedian will go back to the location of his first world record for the American leg of Mortality, his new international stand-up tour that will kick off in October 2024.

The tour will look "at the absurdities of life. And death," the actor said. "Bring it on."

The venue holds a special place in the actor's heart and, unsurprisingly, the announcement prompted a well-deserved throwback to 2023.

Ricky’s previous Hollywood Bowl show, which was part of the award-winning Armageddon tour and took place on 6 May 2023, set a new world record for the highest-grossing single stand-up performance ever.

The gig generated an impressive £1,410,000 ($1,790,206.50), filling the amphitheatre to capacity and raising the bar for stand-up comedy shows, cementing Gervais's status as a comedic powerhouse.

Released on Netflix in 2023, Armageddon also earned the actor a Golden Globe for ‘Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television’.

“What a year!” Gervais commented about the record.

Beyond stand-up gigs, Gervais's work as a writer, actor and director has also earned international acclaim, particularly with Netflix's After Life and BBC sensation The Office: co-created with Stephen Merchant, the sitcom has been aired in over 90 countries and spawned several remakes. 

However, not everyone might know that Gervais is also the first digitally-generated comedian to be featured in a video game.

In 2008, a digital alter-ego of the British stand-up performer appeared in Grand Theft Auto IV. 

While exploring the game's universe, players could attend some of his routines at the fictional Split Sides Club. 

For sure, we can’t wait to see what records the British actor might break next!

Meanwhile, in the digital world, 10-year-old Diana Kidisyuk has achieved remarkable success with her YouTube channel. 

Counting 126 million followers to date, Kids Diana Show has taken over the internet and is an undeniable go-to for kids and parents alike: the young star of the amazingly popular channel can boast the record for most subscribers for an individual female on YouTube.

Translated into 20 languages across 20 channels, Diana's colourful and crazy adventures (often featuring her brother Roma) also racked up over 102 billion views, the overall most views for an individual female on YouTube. 

The talented YouTuber, her brother Roma and their parents recently visited the Guinness World Records office in Dubai, where the family currently lives, to receive her two certificates. 

However, the success of Kids Diana Show stems from the united efforts of the whole family: starting from Diana’s parents Volodymyr and Olena, who are passionate content creators, her older brother Roma and her two younger brothers.

"We started our channel as a side project," the family confessed. "It turned into something huge, and now we’re breaking records!"

After the first appearance, a 2015 video uploaded by Diana’s mother in her native Kyiv, the prodigious YouTuber and her family have gone from strength to strength, moving to the United States in 2017.

Diana’s channel ranges from vibrant unboxing videos to vlogging, from DYI activities suitable for kids, without forgetting songs and storytime videos.

It focuses on fun and educational content for pre-schoolers, reflecting her creativity.

When she's not creating videos or studying, the 10-year-old also loves to roller skate around the house, doodle and read. She revealed that her favourite book is Fairytale by Stephen King.

Crowning her success, the young content creator appears in Guinness World Records 2025 thanks to her remarkable viewership.

Her record appears alongside fellow social media stars like Charli D’Amelio (the first person to reach 100 million followers on TikTok, and the most followed female user on the platform) and Ronaldo (most followers on Instagram). 

"Being part of the Guinness World Records family is incredibly exciting," she says.

"I never expected this to happen. When I first started, I just wanted the channel to get a few views, but I never imagined it would become my life."

Meanwhile, British TV star and radio presenter Sam Thompson earned himself yet another Guinness World Records title – this time, for conker hits!

Sam conk-ered the record for most conkers hits in one minute (with 31 hits) during a live segment on ITV’s This Morning on 14 October, the day after the 2024 World Conker Championship. 

The Made in Chelsea star was assisted by This Morning hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard and Guinness World Records Adjudicator Joanne Brent, who made sure the guidelines were followed throughout the attempt.

Several stars lined up during the programme to be part of the feat, from TV chat queen Vanessa Feltz to Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins stars Chris Oliver and Rudy Reyes.

However, this isn’t Thompson's first taste of record-breaking glory: earlier in 2024, he re-wrote the narrative around Blue Monday, allegedly the most depressing day of the year, with a heartwarming hug-fest. 

The star broke the record for most hugs in a minute, dispensing hugs to 88 people in 60 seconds and beating the previous record by one person.

That amounts to an average of 1.46 hugs per second.

The attempt took place on a sunny winter morning at Shoreham-By-Sea, as the Sussex town was previously voted the “most miserable place” in the UK.

There, Sam was instructed by Joanne to make contact with the torso of each person he was hugging.

The fast-paced feat was livestreamed by ITV and – although not without adrenaline-filled moments and failed attempts as Sam raced against the clock – the gloomy day was eventually lit up with an official Guinness World Records certificate.

But plenty of celebrities have been part of our record-breaking news in the past months, from Batman being inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame to the generational anthem “Mr. Brightside” earning new records. 

Here’s some celeb records you might have missed:

• Whether you're a millennial or Gen Z, we have all learned how to recognize proper fried rice from Uncle Roger (stage name of Nigel Ng). Now, the Malaysian comedian and internet superstar showed his Nieces and Nephews how to catch 1240 g of fried rice in half a minute. "I could do this blindfolded," the social media star joked.
• American act The Killers have been awarded two records for their "Mr. Brightside." The hit from the Las Vegas rock band spent an astonishing 416 weeks on the UK singles chart, setting records for both the longest stay on UK singles chart by a group and the most cumulative weeks on UK singles chart (one song). 

• It’s no secret that Ronaldo is the king of record-breaking in and out of the soccer field. Flaunting the most followers on Instagram and most goals in men's international football matches, the Portuguese footballer recently proved his online domination by smashing the record for most YouTube subscribers gained in 24 hours. How many followers, you ask? Find out here!
• Marvel superstars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were surprised with an official certificate on the set of This Morning. GWR Adjudicator Will Munford handed the accolade to the two celebs after Deadpool & Wolverine broke the record for the most viewed movie trailer in 24 hours, with 365 million views.
• In September 2024, we received the Bat-signal to rush to LA for a very special occurrence: Batman officially became the first EVER superhero to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The iconic D.C. character was honoured with the iconic recognition during a ceremony livestreamed by Variety.