1. James Cameron Davidson was born on 13 December 1953 and is an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer and TV presenter.
44 Facts About Jim Davidson
1. 2.
Jim Davidson hosted the television shows Big Break and The Generation Game.
3.
Jim Davidson developed three adult pantomime shows, Boobs in the Wood, Chalkie Does Dallas, and Sinderella.
4.
Jim Davidson has incorporated jokes about various minority people in his stand-up act, which has made him a subject of criticism and has been involved in several public controversies due to his humour.
5.
The son of a Scottish father from Glasgow and an Irish mother from County Cork, Jim Davidson was born in Kidbrooke, London, and attended Kidbrooke Park Primary School, Blackheath, and St Austin's School in Charlton.
6.
Jim Davidson found his way into show business when, as a regular in a pub in Woolwich, he stepped in after the pub's regular comedian was not available.
7.
Jim Davidson then became a regular on the London comedy circuit, and first auditioned unsuccessfully for Opportunity Knocks in 1975.
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Davidson's success was quickly followed by many more appearances on television, including What's on Next, and several series of his own television show, The Jim Davidson Show, which ran for five complete series and won Davidson the TV Times award as "Funniest Man on Television".
9.
Jim Davidson appeared on an edition of the BBC1 series Seaside Special, shown on 20 August 1977, hosted by Tony Blackburn and David Hamilton.
10.
Jim Davidson's one-man show for Thames Television, Stand Up Jim Davidson, was recorded at London's Royalty Theatre.
11.
Jim Davidson became known for Big Break and as the third host of The Generation Game, as the successor to Bruce Forsyth and Larry Grayson.
12.
In September 2007, Jim Davidson appeared in the third series of Hell's Kitchen in the UK, and in May 2008 he appeared in the BBC's Comedy Map of Britain.
13.
On 2 January 2013, Jim Davidson was set to become a housemate in the 11th series of Celebrity Big Brother, but was arrested at Heathrow Airport by police officers working on Operation Yewtree.
14.
Jim Davidson's touring material developed from his original London comedy circuit show, aimed for pub and club audiences, a demographic considerably different to that of his television work.
15.
Jim Davidson later developed his touring material into his adult pantomime work, including productions with titles such as Boobs in the Wood, a spoof of Robin Hood, and Sinderella.
16.
Jim Davidson set up a company which bought or leased several seaside theatres or piers, including the Winter Gardens building in Great Yarmouth, which was converted into a nightclub.
17.
Jim Davidson has entertained the British Armed Forces, and is currently chairman of the British Forces Foundation charity, which aims to promote the wellbeing and esprit de corps of service personnel.
18.
Jim Davidson was awarded the OBE in the 2001 New Year Honours List for his services to charity.
19.
Jim Davidson is a Freemason and a long-standing member of the Westminster City Council Lodge No 2882.
20.
Jim Davidson was formerly a member of the Chelsea Lodge No 3098 but has resigned; he was the founding Worshipful Master of British Forces Foundation Lodge No 9725 on its formation in 2000.
21.
In spring 2020, Jim Davidson launched his own YouTube channel, where he presented short videos each week, giving his take on the recent news events, and sharing his opinion on news stories and events of the day.
22.
Jim Davidson continued to upload short videos, usually on a daily basis.
23.
In December 2020, after lockdown measures were put into place in England, Jim Davidson named his daily uploads "Lockdown Diary".
24.
In September 2007, Jim Davidson participated in the celebrity reality TV programme Hell's Kitchen and attracted negative media attention over accusations of homophobic bullying towards TV presenter and openly gay contestant Brian Dowling.
25.
Jim Davidson used the word "shirt-lifters" in front of him, and regularly asked if Dowling would like to try on one of "John Virgo's lovely waistcoats", which Jim Davidson owns.
26.
Jim Davidson said that his wife was arriving to pick him up, and that he had only driven a few yards.
27.
In December 2002, Jim Davidson was asked by the manager of the Marriott Bristol Royal Hotel to leave the premises, after it was alleged that he had become confrontational and abusive to staff.
28.
In October 2003, Jim Davidson refused to go on stage in Plymouth because his request for wheelchair users in the front row to be moved to other areas was declined.
29.
Clark stated that he would refuse to perform the show if Jim Davidson himself was in his audience.
30.
Jim Davidson responded by saying the claims were "ridiculous", and no further action was taken.
31.
In October 2006, Jim Davidson was accused by a woman of making insensitive jokes about people with cancer, blind people, a wheelchair user, and the recent trial over the killing of Damilola Taylor, prompting the woman to walk out of the show.
32.
Jim Davidson was called on as a character witness to drug trafficker Brian Brendan Wright in 2007.
33.
On 2 January 2013, as Jim Davidson was set to become a housemate in the 11th series of Celebrity Big Brother, he was arrested at Heathrow Airport by police officers working on Operation Yewtree.
34.
In November 2018, Jim Davidson told Nigel Farage on LBC radio that he had been angered by Extinction Rebellion protests in London as the traffic had almost prevented him "from getting his pie and mash".
35.
Jim Davidson has written two autobiographies, The Full Monty and Close to the Edge.
36.
Jim Davidson subsequently returned the compliment to Mills and his wife on their 60th wedding anniversary, with a message bearing the same wording.
37.
Jim Davidson moved back to the UK after living in Dubai for five years.
38.
Jim Davidson expressed sympathy for then UKIP leader Nigel Farage, describing the party as "the Jim Davidson of the political world".
39.
Jim Davidson is a supporter of Charlton Athletic, the local club in the area where he grew up.
40.
On 18 June 2014, Jim Davidson attended the assault trial of former N-Dubz rapper Dappy.
41.
Jim Davidson has been married five times; all of them have ended in divorce.
42.
On 18 March 2011, Jim Davidson announced the show was being cancelled because of poor ticket sales, having visited only four of the 12 planned city destinations.
43.
Jim Davidson added that he was still in talks to bring the show to the West End at a later date.
44.
Jim Davidson produced and starred in a number of "adult pantomimes", which were blue-humoured versions of conventional pantomimes.