Jason John Manford (born 26 May 1981) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer. Manford was a team captain on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

panel show ''

8 Out of 10 Cats ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' (stylised as ''8 out of 10 CATS'') is a British comedy panel show that aired from 3 June 2005 to 17 January 2021. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2005 to 2015, then More4 from 2016 to 2017, and finally E4 from ...

'' from 2007 until 2010 and has presented numerous television shows for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and ITV including ''Comedy Rocks'' (2010–2011), ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

'' (2010), '' Show Me the Funny'' (2011), '' A Question of Sport: Super Saturday'' (2014), '' Bigheads'' (2017) and ''

Children In Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

'' (2022), and was one of four judges on ITV's '' Starstruck'' (2022). Manford has starred in numerous stage musicals in the West End and across the UK such as ''Sweeney Todd'', ''The Producers'', ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

'', ''Curtains'' and '' The Wizard of Oz''.

Early life

Jason John Manford was born in

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

on 26 May 1981, the son of Sharon (née Ryan) and courtroom stenographer and

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a trades/labour union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the un ...

in the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

Ian Manford. His maternal grandmother, Nora (née Peate), was an

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...

from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

.Interview, '' The Graham Norton Show'', 28 June 2010. Manford and his four siblings grew up in a

terraced house A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

in the Whalley Range area of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. He attended St Margaret's Primary School in Whalley Range, and later Chorlton High School (at the time known as Oakwood High School). He formed a band in school with two friends, Simon and Neil, with his mother later saying that this was what got him into singing. During a Twitter exchange in which Manford defended

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...

undertaken by British Railway workers in the ASLEF

, Manford recalled the various workplaces he had worked in before his current career including building sites, call centres, shops, bars, warehouses and offices, stating "I didn't just leave school and say 'right, I'm off to play the arena!. While working as a glass collector at a local pub, Manford became interested in comedy after watching the likes of

Eddie Izzard Suzy Eddie Izzard ( ; born Edward John Izzard, 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomi ...

, Peter Kay and Johnny Vegas perform at the local comedy club. Kay recommended him to undertake an HND in media and performance at the

University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

, which Kay himself had done. Despite not having the required

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

grades, he was accepted into the programme and eventually upgraded to a full degree. His brother Colin, also a University of Salford graduate, followed him into performing and is also a stand-up comedian.Shadow: Colin Manford
, mancunianmatters.co.uk, 30 June 2010; retrieved 24 April 2014.

Career

Television

From June to November 2007, Manford was on ''Ideal'', where he had a small part as Jack, who had been dumped and cheated on by his girlfriend with 'little Darren', 'big Darren' and 'flu-strength Darren'. He later made another appearance in episode five of that series. He hosted a breakfast show on Xfm Manchester until May 2008. From June to November 2007, Manford was Paramount Comedy's continuity announcer and writer. In June 2007, he took over from Dave Spikey as a team captain on ''

''. He presented his own show, '' Tonightly'', which aired every weekday from 1 to 22 August 2008 and appeared as a celebrity supporter for inventor Kin Kam in a special charity edition of

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

's ''Dragons' Den'' for

Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Dire ...

. In March 2010, Manford was announced as host of a new comedy show called ''Comedy Rocks'', featuring stand-up comedians and musical performances. A pilot was shown on ITV on 26 March 2010 and a full series began on the channel on 14 January 2011. On 26 May 2010, Manford was announced as the new presenter of

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

's ''

'' from July 2010. He resigned from the programme in November 2010 following allegations surrounding his private life. He, with

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea; 27 February 1973) is a British-Australian singer, songwriter, and media personality. Born in England to Cypriot parents and raised in Australia, Andre achieved success in the mid-1990s as a singer, topping ...

, comprised the Home Team on the ITV game show '' Odd One In''. In July 2011, Manford presented '' Show Me The Funny'', a reality show on ITV involving ten comedians in which one is voted off each week. In 2013, Manford hosted three pilots: ''Good News, Bad News'' and ''Oh! What a Week'' for ITV, and ''You and Whose Army?'' for Sky1. None of them have yet been commissioned for a full series. He wrote and presented ''A Funny Old Year'' which was broadcast on ITV on New Year's Eve in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The show saw Manford take a look back over the past year's humorous events. Since 21 June 2014, Manford has hosted a

show called '' A Question of Sport: Super Saturday'', a spin-off from

panel show '' A Question of Sport''. On 21 September 2014, Manford guest hosted an episode of '' Sunday Night at the Palladium''. He returned to present another show on 24 May 2015. Manford played the role of Marty in the 2015 BBC Drama '' Ordinary Lies''. In 2015, he hosted ''The Money Pit'' for Dave and ''It's a Funny Old Week'' for ITV. In April 2017, Manford guest presented five episodes of '' The Nightly Show''. He also presented the ''

2017 Laurence Olivier Awards The 2017 Laurence Olivier Awards were held on 9 April 2017 at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Jason Manford. A highlights show was shown on ITV shortly after the live event ended. Eligibility Any new prod ...

'' for ITV, before returning to present the ceremony in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. In 2017, he presented a new Sunday-night entertainment series for ITV called '' Bigheads''. Since 2017, he has been the voice of Daisy's dad in a CHF Entertainment cartoon called '' Daisy & Ollie''. He also writes some of the episodes for it. In 2018, he fronted ''What Would Your Kid Do?'', a new series for ITV. In 2020, Manford came in second place as the Hedgehog on '' The Masked Singer''. Manford hosted

The Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

2020 from the Blackpool Opera House, with performances including Gary Barlow,

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), commonly known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. W ...

, Steps and '' Britain's Got Talent'' 2020 winner Jon Courtenay. In May 2021, Manford became the presenter of BBC quiz show ''Unbeatable''. In February 2022, Manford appeared on the final of the Masked Singer third series masked as Hedgehog performing a duet with winner Natalie Imbruglia masked as Panda. In November 2022, Manford presented ''

'' alongside

Mel Giedroyc Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc ( , ; born 5 June 1968) is an English actress, comedian and television presenter. With Sue Perkins, she has co-hosted series including ''Light Lunch'' for Channel 4, '' The Great British Bake Off'' for the BBC an ...

, Ade Adepitan, Alex Scott and Chris Ramsey.

Stand–up

After a successful first UK tour and high sales of the following DVD, filmed live at the

Manchester Apollo The O2 Apollo Manchester (known locally as The Apollo and formerly Manchester Apollo and ABC Ardwick) is a concert venue in Ardwick Green, Manchester, England. It is a Grade II listed building, with a capacity of 3,500 (2,514 standing, 986 seats ...

, he began his "Turning into My Dad" tour on 14 July 2010. In March 2010, Manford took part in '' Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March. He toured the UK with "First World Problems", between June and December 2013 and produced a DVD of the same name. His show "Muddle Class" was toured across the UK until the end of 2018. His tour "Like me" began in early September 2020 and will finish in October 2021. In 2011, Manford became one of the shareholders of the

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

-based comedy club The Laugh Inn. He frequented the club to see shows and support the circuit comedians, as well as performing impromptu shows. The club closed in 2013.

Singing

Manford comes from a family of singers and musicians and sang regularly with them. In the TV competition ''Born to Shine'' in 2011, he was taught daily to sing in an operatic style; he went on to win the show, and has released an album of show tunes, titled '' A Different Stage''. On 25 November 2022, Manford released the single "Assembly Bangers", a song he had been closing his standup show with. The track, a medley of songs nostalgically associated with school assemblies including " This Little Light of Mine", " He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and " Lord of the Dance", will donate all profits to the Trussell Trust's Emergency Fund Appeal. The single charted at number two on the UK Official Singles Sales Chart on 2 December 2022. On 16 December 2022, Manford released ''Assembly Bangers: The Album'' with Chris Sutherland, with the "Christmas Assembly Bangers" single being released on the same day. Again, all proceeds were donated to the Trussell Trust.

Acting

In late 2013, Manford was the voiceover artist for the Jet2.com and Churchill Insurance adverts and is one of the voices in the BBC comedy sketch show '' Walk on the Wild Side''. He appeared in series four of Channel 4's '' Shameless'' as a security guard who is seduced by Karen Maguire. In July 2012, Manford took over the role of

Pirelli Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is an Italian multinational tyre manufacturer based in the city of Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Borsa Italiana since 1922, is the 5th-largest tyre manufacturer, and is focused on the consumer pro ...

for a month (followed by a few dates in August) in the London revival of musical '' Sweeney Todd'' at the Adelphi Theatre opposite Michael Ball and

Imelda Staunton Dame Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre pr ...

. Manford has a minor voice role in the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

video game ''

Fable III ''Fable III'' is a 2010 action role-playing video game developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The third game in the ''Fable'' series, the story focuses on the player charact ...

'', playing Jammy, who teaches the player how to use mortars. He had a role in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

series '' Ideal'' and starred in an episode of

's '' Moving On''. In 2015, Manford played the role of Marty in the

drama series '' Ordinary Lies'', starring alongside Michelle Keegan, Max Beesley and Sally Lindsay. He also played the medium Alexander Le Cheyne in Episode 3 of Series 3 of '' Ripper Street''. In 2015, Manford starred in his second musical as Leo Bloom in the 2015 UK tour of

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

' '' The Producers'' opposite

Louie Spence Louie Spence (born 6 April 1969) is an English dancing, dancer, choreographer and television presenter, best known for the TV show ''Pineapple Dance Studios (TV series), Pineapple Dance Studios''. He was a professional dancer in his youth, perfo ...

Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''Given name#Name at birth, né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is a retired English stand-up comedy, stand-up and Improv comedy teacher, improv comedian, actor, performance poetry, performance poet, cartoonist and podc ...

and

Ross Noble Ross Markham Noble (born 6 June 1976) is an English stand-up comedian and actor. Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on panel shows such as '' Have I Got News for You' ...

. He played Caractacus Potts in the UK tour of ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...

'' alongside

Michelle Collins Michelle Danielle Collins (born 28 May 1962) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Cindy Beale in the BBC soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (r ...

, Martin Kemp, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Claire Sweeney. He toured with the production from February to April 2016, before the role was played by Lee Mead. Manford returned to the role in October 2016 and continued until the end of the tour in February 2017. In 2019, he starred in '' Curtains'', a musical whodunnit by

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita ...

and

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

, which toured the UK. It moved to the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End mid-December until mid-January 2020, after which it began a further UK tour. In December 2020 he was due to make his pantomime debut as Muddles in ''Sleeping Beauty'' at the

Manchester Opera House The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring Theatre (structure), theatre that plays host to touring Musical theatre, musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed buil ...

alongside Billy Pearce, Jodie Prenger, Eric Potts and Louis Gaunt, however, due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the government's guidelines the performances were cancelled. He eventually made his panto debut in December 2022 at the Opera House as Captain Hook in ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' alongside Ben Nickless, where he closed each performance by singing "Assembly Bangers". Manford is starring as the Cowardly Lion in ''The Wizard of Oz'' from June to September 2023 at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

with Ashley Banjo as the Tin Man. He will also return to Pantomime at the Manchester Opera House in December 2023 to star in the title role of ''

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...

'' opposite Ben Nickless who also returns. In February 2024, it was confirmed that Manford had joined the cast of BBC's '' Waterloo Road'' as the school's new Headteacher, Steve Savage. In August 2024, Manford played Nick Bottom in the UK premiere of the Broadway musical '' Something Rotten!'' ''In Concert'' for three performances at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

Radio

In January 2016, Manford became the presenter of Absolute Radio's Sunday morning breakfast show.

Influences

Manford cites Billy Connolly as his comedy hero, after seeing him when Manford was 11, and comics such as Tommy Cooper and Peter Kay heavily influenced his comic style. In 2009, in an interview on ''

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme featured Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show ...

'', Manford talked about his passion for musicals, expressing an interest in taking a singing and acting role on stage, and giving a short, impromptu performance of "Suddenly Seymour" from '' Little Shop of Horrors''.

Charity

In November 2008, Manford became patron of Savebabies, a charity campaigning for newborn screening. In April 2014, Manford became a supporter of the cancer charity Stephen's Story. It was set up by Stephen Sutton , a 19-year-old blogger with terminal

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

who set up the initiative to help others battling cancer. All profits made by Manford's comedy clubs during May 2014, the month of Sutton's death, were given to the charity.

Personal life

Manford married his first wife, Catherine, in October 2007. They had four children together in 2013: twin daughters born on 20 August 2009, a third daughter born in December 2010, and a son born in 2012. The family lived in Bramhall. He married his second wife, Lucy Dyke, in 2017; they have two children together. Manford is a supporter of

Manchester City FC Manchester City Football Club is a professional football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Assoc ...

Awards

Won

* Winner of the 1999 North West City Life Comedian of the Year * Winner of the 2000 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year * Winner of the 2005 Writers Guild of Great Britain and The List's Best Comedy Newcomer for his debut Edinburgh show Urban Legend * Winner of the 2006 Chortle Award for Best Breakthrough Act * Winner of the 2006 North West Comedy Awards category for Best Stand up on the North West Circuit

Nominated

* Finalist in the 2000 Channel Four So You Think You're Funny competition at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

* Nominated for the 2001 ''Manchester Evening News'' Theatre Award for Comedy * Nominated for the 2005 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for his debut one-man show Urban Legend * Runner-up as Hedgehog (contestant) in 2020 The Masked Singer UK.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Performances and works

Television

Theatre

Stand-up DVDs

*''Live at the Manchester Apollo'' (16 November 2009) *''Live 2011'' (14 November 2011) *''First World Problems'' (10 November 2014)

Early life

Career

Television

Stand–up

Singing

Acting

Radio

Influences

Charity

Personal life

Awards

Won

Nominated

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Performances and works

Television

Theatre

Stand-up DVDs

References

External links