Jason John Manford was born in Salford on 26 May 1981, the son of Sharon (née Ryan)[1] and courtroom stenographer and trade unionshop steward in the NHS Ian Manford.[2][3] His maternal grandmother, Nora (née Peate), was an Irish Catholic from Dublin.[4][5] Manford and his four siblings grew up in a terraced house in the Whalley Range area of Manchester.[2][6] 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 undertaken by British Railway workers in the ASLEFtrade union, 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!'".[3] While working as a glass collector at a local pub,[7] Manford became interested in comedy after watching the likes of Eddie Izzard, 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, which Kay himself had done.[8] Despite not having the required A-level 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[9] and is also a stand-up comedian.[10]
Career
Television
From June to November 2007, Manford was on Ideal,[11] 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[12] until May 2008.[13]
From June to November 2007, Manford was Paramount Comedy's continuity announcer and writer.[14] In June 2007, he took over from Dave Spikey as a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats.[15] 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's Dragons' Den for Sport Relief.
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's The One Show from July 2010.[16] He resigned from the programme in November 2010 following allegations surrounding his private life.[17]
He, with Peter Andre, 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.[citation needed]
Manford played the role of Marty in the 2015 BBC Drama Ordinary Lies.[20] In 2015, he hosted The Money Pit for Dave and It's a Funny Old Week for ITV.[21]
In 2016, Manford joined Absolute Radio as their new Sunday morning show presenter.
In May 2021, Manford became the presenter of BBC quiz show Unbeatable.[26]
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.
After a successful first UK tour[27] and high sales of the following DVD, filmed live at the Manchester Apollo, he began his "Turning into My Dad" tour on 14 July 2010.[28]
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.[citation needed] 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.[29]
In 2011, Manford became one of the shareholders of the Chester-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.[30]
Singing
Manford comes from a family of singers and musicians[10] 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[31] the show, and has released an album of show tunes, titled A Different Stage.
On 16 December 2022, Manford released Assembly Bangers: The Album with Chris Sutherland,[35] with the "Christmas Assembly Bangers" single being released on the same day. Again, all proceeds were donated to the Trussell Trust.[36]
In 2019, he starred in Curtains, a musical whodunnit by Fred Ebb and John Kander, 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.[39]
In December 2020 he was due to make his pantomime debut as Muddles in Sleeping Beauty at the Manchester Opera House alongside Billy Pearce, Jodie Prenger, Eric Potts and Louis Gaunt, however, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic 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 alongside Ben Nickless, where he closed each performance by singing "Assembly Bangers".
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.[41]
In August 2024, Manford will play Nick Bottom in the UK premiere of the Broadway musical Something Rotten!In Concert for three performances at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Influences
Manford cites Billy Connolly as his comedy hero,[42] after seeing him when Manford was 11, and comics such as Tommy Cooper and Peter Kay heavily influenced his comic style.[7] 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" from Little Shop of Horrors.
Charity
In November 2008, Manford became patron of Savebabies, a charity campaigning for newborn screening.[43]
In April 2014, Manford became a supporter of the cancer charity Stephen's Story. It was set up by Stephen SuttonMBE, a 19-year-old blogger with terminal colorectal cancer who set up the initiative to help others battling cancer.[44] All profits made by Manford's comedy clubs during May 2014, the month of Sutton's death, were given to the charity.[45]
Personal life
Manford married his first wife, Catherine, in October 2007. They had four children together before separating in 2013: twin daughters born on 20 August 2009, a third daughter born in December 2010, and a son born in 2012.[46] The family lived in Bramhall.[47] He married his second wife, Lucy Dyke, in 2017; they have two children together.