Jason Manford

 ( 1981 Births ) 

During a Twitter exchange in which Manford defended strike action taken by British Railway workers in the ASLEF trade union, Manford recalled the various workplaces he had worked in before his current career including building sites, call centres, shops, bars, warehouses and offices. He stated: "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, 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. 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 and is also a stand-up comedian. Shadow: Colin Manford , mancunianmatters.co.uk, 30 June 2010; retrieved 24 April 2014.

From June to November 2007, Manford was Paramount Comedy's continuity announcer and writer. Comedy.co.uk Richard Herring's Edinburgh fringe Podcast 26 August 2013 In June 2007, he took over from Dave Spikey as a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats. Jason Manford: 10 things you need to know about the man tipped as the new One Show host, Mirror.co.uk, 21 May 2010.

On 26 May 2010, Manford was announced as the new presenter of BBC One's The One Show from July 2010. He resigned from the programme in November 2010 following allegations surrounding his private life.

Since 21 June 2014, Manford has hosted a BBC One show called , a spin-off from BBC panel show A Question of Sport. On 21 September 2014, Manford guest hosted an episode of Sunday Night at the Palladium.

Manford played the role of Marty in the 2015 BBC Drama Ordinary Lies.Ordinary Lies In 2015, he hosted The Money Pit for Dave and It's a Funny Old Week for ITV.

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 2020 from the Blackpool Opera House, with performances including Gary Barlow, Melanie C, Steps and Britain's Got Talent 2020 winner Jon Courtenay.

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

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.

He toured the UK with "First-World Problems" from June to 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 finished in October 2021.

In 2011 Manford became one of the shareholders of the Chester 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.