53 Facts About Jason Manford

1.

Jason John Manford was born on 26 May 1981 and is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer.

2.

Jason 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 and Curtains.

3.

Jason John Manford was born in Salford on 26 May 1981, the son of Sharon and courtroom stenographer and trade union shop steward in the NHS Ian Manford.

4.

Jason Manford's maternal grandmother, Nora, was an Irish Catholic from Dublin.

5.

Jason Manford attended St Margaret's Primary School in Whalley Range, and later Chorlton High School.

6.

Jason Manford formed a band in school with two friends, Simon and Neil, with his mother later saying that this was what got him into singing.

7.

Jason Manford's brother Colin, a University of Salford graduate, followed him into performing and is a stand-up comedian.

8.

Jason Manford later made another appearance in episode five of that series.

9.

Jason Manford hosted a breakfast show on Xfm Manchester until May 2008.

10.

From June to November 2007, Jason Manford was Paramount Comedy's continuity announcer and writer.

11.

Jason Manford 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's Dragons' Den for Sport Relief.

12.

In March 2010, Jason Manford was announced as host of a new comedy show called Comedy Rocks, featuring stand-up comedians and musical performances.

13.

On 26 May 2010, Jason Manford was announced as the new presenter of BBC One's The One Show from July 2010.

14.

Jason Manford resigned from the programme in November 2010 following allegations surrounding his private life.

15.

Jason Manford made up one half of the Home Team with Peter Andre on the ITV game show Odd One In.

16.

In July 2011, Jason Manford presented Show Me The Funny, a reality show on ITV involving ten comedians in which one is voted off each week.

17.

Jason Manford wrote and presented A Funny Old Year which was broadcast on ITV on New Year's Eve in 2012,2013 and 2014.

18.

Since 21 June 2014, Jason Manford has hosted a BBC One show called A Question of Sport: Super Saturday, a spin-off from BBC panel show A Question of Sport.

19.

On 21 September 2014, Jason Manford guest hosted an episode of Sunday Night at the Palladium.

20.

Jason Manford returned to present another show on 24 May 2015.

21.

Jason Manford played the role of Marty in the 2015 BBC Drama Ordinary Lies.

22.

In 2016, Jason Manford joined Absolute Radio as their new Sunday morning show presenter.

23.

Jason Manford presented the 2017 Laurence Olivier Awards for ITV, before returning to present the ceremony in 2019 and 2020.

24.

In 2020, Jason Manford came in second place as the Hedgehog on The Masked Singer.

25.

Jason Manford hosted The Royal Variety Performance 2020 from the Blackpool Opera House, with performances including Gary Barlow, Melanie C, Steps and Britain's Got Talent 2020 winner Jon Courtenay.

26.

In May 2021, Jason Manford became the presenter of BBC quiz show Unbeatable.

27.

In February 2022, Jason Manford appeared on the final of the Masked Singer third series masked as Hedgehog performing a duet with winner Natalie Imbruglia masked as Panda.

28.

In November 2022, Jason Manford presented Children In Need alongside Mel Giedroyc, Ade Adepitan, Alex Scott and Chris Ramsey.

29.

In March 2010, Jason 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.

30.

Jason Manford toured the UK with "First World Problems", between June and December 2013 and produced a DVD of the same name.

31.

Jason Manford's show "Muddle Class" was toured across the UK until the end of 2018.

32.

In 2011, Jason Manford became one of the shareholders of the Chester-based comedy club The Laugh Inn.

33.

Jason Manford frequented the club to see shows and support the circuit comedians, as well as performing impromptu shows.

34.

Jason Manford comes from a family of singers and musicians and sang regularly with them.

35.

On 25 November 2022, Jason Manford released the single "Assembly Bangers", a song he had been closing his standup show with.

36.

On 16 December 2022, Jason Manford released Assembly Bangers: The Album with Chris Sutherland, with the "Christmas Assembly Bangers" single being released on the same day.

37.

In late 2013, Jason Manford was the voiceover artist for the Jet2.

38.

Jason Manford appeared in series four of Channel 4's Shameless as a security guard who is seduced by Karen Maguire.

39.

In July 2012, Jason Manford took over the role of Pirelli for a month in the London revival of musical Sweeney Todd at the Adelphi Theatre opposite Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton.

40.

Jason Manford has a minor voice role in the Xbox 360 video game Fable III, playing Jammy, who teaches the player how to use mortars.

41.

Jason Manford had a role in the BBC Three series Ideal and starred in an episode of BBC One's Moving On.

42.

In 2015, Jason Manford played the role of Marty in the BBC One drama series Ordinary Lies, starring alongside Michelle Keegan, Max Beesley and Sally Lindsay.

43.

Jason Manford played the medium Alexander Le Cheyne in Episode 3 of Series 3 of Ripper Street.

44.

In 2015, Jason Manford starred in his second musical as Leo Bloom in the 2015 UK tour of Mel Brooks' The Producers opposite Louie Spence, Phill Jupitus and Ross Noble.

45.

Jason Manford played Caractacus Potts in the UK tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang alongside Phill Jupitus, Michelle Collins, Martin Kemp, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Claire Sweeney.

46.

Jason Manford toured with the production from February to April 2016, before the role was played by Lee Mead.

47.

Jason Manford returned to the role in October 2016 and continued until the end of the tour in February 2017.

48.

Jason Manford eventually made his panto debut in December 2022 at the Opera House as Captain Hook in Peter Pan alongside Ben Nickless, where he closed each performance by singing "Assembly Bangers".

49.

Jason Manford is due to star as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz from June to September 2023 at the London Palladium with Ashley Banjo as the Tin Man.

50.

Jason Manford cites Billy Connolly as his comedy hero, after seeing him when Jason Manford was 11, and comics such as Tommy Cooper and Peter Kay heavily influenced his comic style.

51.

In 2009, in an interview on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, Jason 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.

52.

In November 2008, Jason Manford became patron of Savebabies, a charity campaigning for newborn screening.

53.

Jason Manford married his second wife, Lucy Dyke, in 2017; they have two children together.