Jason Manford

Jason Manford (born 26 May 1981, Salford, Greater Manchester, age 28) is an English writer, comedian, actor and television presenter, who began his career in 1999.

Early life
Manford attended Oakwood High School in Chorlton before moving on to Loreto College in Hulme.

Manford was working in a comedy club collecting glasses when a performer failed to arrive for an evening set. Manford, who was 17 at the time stepped in to fill the gap, an event which marked the beginning of his comedy career. Six gigs later he was crowned The City Life North West Comedian of the Year.

Other work
He hosted a breakfast show on Xfm Manchester until 15 May 2008. From June 2007 until November 2007, he was UK TV cable and satellite channel Paramount Comedy's Continuity Announcer and Writer. In June 2007, he took over from Dave Spikey as a team captain on 8 out of 10 Cats. He also did his own show which aired every Monday to Friday and was called Tonightly during August 2008. Jason cites Billy Connolly as his comedy hero, after seeing him when Jason was 8, and comics such as Tommy Cooper and Les Dawson heavily influenced his comic style. He is currently touring with his first UK tour. The DVD of his current tour will be released on 2 November 2009. He can currently be heard as the voice over on the Churchill Insurance adverts.

Jason had revealed at a recording of the new quiz show As Seen on TV with Steve Jones that he is expecting twins with his wife in August. In 2009 in an interview on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, 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". He can currently be heard as one of the voices in the BBC comedy sketch show, Walk on the Wild Side.

Personal life
On Thursday 20 August 2009 Jason's wife, Catherine, gave birth to healthy fraternal twin daughters. This was announced by Manford via his Twitter. The couple went on to have another daughter and a son, before divorcing over publicised 'sexting' on multiple occasions. Jason is now with Lucy Dyke and they have a daughter. All the childrens names are kept private. Again on Twitter, he revealed that Steve Edge is godfather to his twin daughters. Manford supports Manchester City F.C. In November 2008 Jason became patron of Savebabies, a charity campaigning for newborn screening. He is also patron of Children's Adventure Farm Trust.

Awards and nominations for stand-up comedy

 * Winner of the 1999 North West City Life Comedian of the Year
 * Winner of the 2000 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year
 * Finalist in the 2000 Channel Four So You Think You're Funny competition at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe
 * 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
 * Winner of the 2005 Writers Guild of Great Britain and The List's Best Comedy Newcomer for his debut Edinburgh show Urban Legend
 * Winner 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

Television credits in an acting role

 * 2009 Walk on the Wild Side - Multiple voices (BBC)
 * 2007 Shameless - Security Guard (Channel 4)
 * 2005 Ideal - Jack (BBC Three)
 * 2005 Gideon's Daughter - Comic (BBC)
 * 2005 Cutting It - Comic (BBC)

DVD releases

 * Main: Live DVDs from the 8 out of 10 Cats panel