Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, writer, producer, and media personality. He presented the television chat shows Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2001–2010) and The Jonathan Ross Show (2010–present), hosted his own radio show on BBC Radio 2 from 1999 to 2010, and served as film critic and presenter on the television programme Film… (1999–2010).
Ross began his television career as a TV researcher, before débuting as a presenter for The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross on Channel 4 in 1987. Over the next decade, he presented numerous radio and television programmes, many through his own production company, Channel X. In 1995, he sold his stake in Channel X, and embarked on a career with the BBC in 1997. In 1999, Ross took over presenting the Film programme from Barry Norman, and also began presenting his own radio show,. Two years later, he began hosting Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, for which he won three British Academy Television Awards for Best Entertainment Performance, in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Ross's other television work includes being a panellist on the comedy sports quiz show They Think It's All Over (1999–2005), presenting the British Comedy Awards (1991–2007, 2009–2014), judging on the musical competition show The Masked Singer (2020–present) and its spin-off series The Masked Dancer (2021–2022), and competing on the reality show The Celebrity Traitors (2025). In 2005, Ross was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to broadcasting. In 2008, he wrote a semi-autobiographical work titled Why Do I Say These Things?, detailing some of his life experiences. He has also written his own comic books, Turf and America's Got Powers.
Their mother put all of her children forward for roles in television advertisements. Ross first appeared in a television advertisement for the breakfast cereal Kellogg's Rice Krispies in 1970, when he was 10 years old. He also appeared in an ad for the laundry detergent Persil.
Ross was educated at the comprehensive schools Norlington School for Boys and Leyton County High School for Boys. He then studied at the Southampton College of Art and took a degree in Modern European History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) in London, which today forms part of University College London.
Ross began his adult career as a researcher on the Channel 4 show Loose Talk. After leaving this, he worked on various other shows before beginning another research job on Soul Train, which became Solid Soul. It is believed his first appearance on television was as an extra in the 1981 It Ain't Half Hot, Mum episode "The Last Roll Call".
The two men based their concept on the successful American show Late Night with David Letterman, and formed a new production company called Channel X, to produce a pilot. Ross had not planned to be the show's host, but he presented the show from its debut in January 1987.
While the series was initially a co-production with Colin Callender, ownership transferred to Marke and Ross, meaning that the latter retained a great deal of control as well as being presenter.'Baggy fashion is blamed for trouble at t'mill', Roland Rudd, The Times, 2 June 1988. The show was successful for both Ross and for Channel 4, making him one of the major personalities on the channel. A year later, his documentary series The Incredibly Strange Film Show introduced many to the works of like Sam Raimi and Jackie Chan. Ross and Raimi appeared together in a British television advertisement for Raimi's 1987 film Evil Dead II.
In 1990 and 1991, his television documentary series Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only profiled and interviewed directors including Alejandro Jodorowsky, David Lynch, Aki Kaurismäki and in 2014, the Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.
In 1989, he co-presented the biennial BBC charity telethon Comic Relief, the same year he launched One Hour with Jonathan Ross a short lived chat show on Channel 4. Its game show segment, "Knock down ginger", introduced comedians such as Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson to television. In December 1989, Ross appeared on Cilla Black Goodbye to the 80s and presented all four members of Queen with the "Top Band of the Eighties" prize in a broadcast for ITV which would turn out to be Freddie Mercury's penultimate public appearance before his death from AIDS in 1991.
Ross presented the annual British Comedy Awards each year from 1991 to 2014 with the exception of 2008 following his suspension from the BBC. In 1992 he presented an interview with Madonna about her Erotica album and Sex Book promotion.
Ross has appeared in numerous television entertainment programmes on several channels throughout the 1990s and 2000s. He was a regular panellist on the sports quiz They Think It's All Over, and hosted the panel game It's Only TV...But I Like It. Other projects include the BBC joke-quiz Gagtag, the Channel 4 variety show Saturday Zoo, new-acts showcase The Big Big Talent Show, and the ITV programme Fantastic Facts.
In 1995, he left Channel X, despite its profitable nature. He was quoted in a 1998 article as stating:
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in March 2001 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at the BBC Television Centre.
In August 2014, he returned to Radio 2 as a stand-in presenter on Steve Wright's afternoon show for four days. In March 2015 Jonathan sat in for Steve Wright again from 16 to 27 March 2015. In February 2016 Ross returned to Radio 2 on a regular basis to present the weekly arts show. From 11 January 2018, Anneka Rice took over the arts show.
In 2004, Ross presented a documentary on one of his favourite subjects, punk rock, for the BBC.
In November 2005, Ross appeared on Gordon Ramsay 's The F Word where Ramsay shows Ross how to kill lobster.
In 2005, Ross anchored the BBC television coverage of the Live 8 concerts. Later that year he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting. He celebrated the news by playing "God Save the Queen" by The Sex Pistols (which was banned by the BBC when released in 1977) on his BBC Radio 2 Saturday morning show. On 21 June 2006, Ross was made a Fellow of University College London, where he studied.
In early 2006, Ross announced that after eight years he was quitting his regular panellist seat on the sport/comedy quiz show They Think It's All Over explaining: "I need time now to focus on my other commitments and so regrettably I won't be back for the 20th series." Following Ross's departure, only two more episodes of the show were made before it was cancelled.
In January 2006 he presented Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion, broadcast on BBC Four. The three-part documentary followed Ross as he explored the film industry in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea, interviewing directors and showcasing clips. His interest in East Asian culture and his self-confessed love for Japanese anime and video games led him to making three series of BBC Three show Japanorama, as well as producing another television series for the same channel called Adam and Joe Go Tokyo, starring Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish. He produced the latter programme through his own television production company Hot Sauce.
In June 2006, a bidding war was sparked between BBC and other broadcasters for Ross's services. Although other broadcasters were unsuccessful in poaching Ross, it is believed that their bids were higher than the BBC during negotiations. ITV, who bid for Ross, poached chat host Michael Parkinson around the same time. Ross became the highest paid television personality in Britain, when a new BBC contract secured his services until 2010, for a reported £18 million (£6 million per year). 'Ross to stay at the BBC' Ben Dowell, The Guardian, 9 June 2006 That same month, he was named by Radio Times as the most powerful person in British radio.
On 25 June 2006, he performed at the Children's Party at the Palace for Elizabeth II's 80th birthday. In August 2006, Ross asked the first question in the Yahoo! Answers "Five Million Answers challenge". On 16 March 2007, Ross hosted Comic Relief 2007 alongside Fearne Cotton and Lenny Henry.
On 7 July 2007, Ross co-presented (with Graham Norton) BBC television coverage of the Live Earth climate change awareness concerts, which became the subject of controversy due to the foul language used by performers including Phil Collins,Madonna and Johnny Borrell, resulting in one of Ofcom's toughest sanctions to date on the BBC. Ross had been required to apologise on the day for the language used by Collins and Borrell.
Ross is well-known as an enthusiastic comic book collector. Starting on 10 September 2007, he presented the BBC Four series Comics Britannia, about the history of the British comic. This forms the core of a Comics Britannia season, which includes another documentary, In Search of Steve Ditko, by Ross. Ross is also greatly interested in Japan, presenting a BBC-TV series on many different aspects of Japanese culture, Japanorama, for three series between 2002 and 2007. In May 2008, Ross won the Sony Gold Award "Music Radio Personality of the Year". On 3 August 2008, he hosted Jonathan Ross Salutes Dad's Army, a BBC One tribute to the sitcom set during World War II.
In 2010, Ross 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. On 7 April 2010, Ross's first comic book was published. Turf was written by Jonathan himself and drawn by artist Tommy Lee Edwards. In 2011, Ross wrote an introduction for The Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 1, a collection of work by the American comics artist featured in Ross's 2007 documentary.
Ross said that while he "had a wonderful time working for the BBC" he had "decided not to re-negotiate when my current contract comes to an end," a choice which was "not financially motivated". The announcement came a day after it became public knowledge that Graham Norton had signed a two-year deal with the BBC. Torin Douglas, the corporation's media correspondent speculated Norton would be a ready-made replacement for Ross's chat show role, while Mark Kermode of BBC Radio 5 Live was a potential successor in the film review role, but that "replacing Ross on radio will be harder." Ross last appeared on the film programme in Episode 10 of Film 2010 with Jonathan Ross aired on 17 March 2010. After Kermode publicly ruled himself out on 26 March, Claudia Winkleman was announced 30 March 2010 as his replacement as host of the Film programme.
Ross's final Friday Night chat show episode aired on 16 July 2010, with David Beckham, Jackie Chan, Mickey Rourke, and Roxy Music as guests. Ross ended the show with an affectionate tribute to his guests and to the audience, while mentioning that he had promised Morrissey that he would remain composed and "wouldn't cry." His final Radio 2 show was broadcast the following day. Patrick Kielty initially took over Ross's Radio 2 slot, after which Graham Norton took over permanently from 2 October that year.
Ross's new chat show, The Jonathan Ross Show, began on 3 September 2011 on ITV1, drawing an audience of 4.3m viewers, compared to the 4.6m for his finale on the BBC show. The first series ran for thirteen weeks. Speaking about the new show, Ross said: "I am thrilled and excited that after a short break I will be rolling up my sleeves and creating a brand new show for ITV1."
On 20 October 2014, it was announced by ITV that Ross had signed a new contract with ITV. The new contract will see him present two more series of his chatshow along with a Christmas Special on ITV in 2015. ITV's Director of Entertainment and Comedy Elaine Bedell added: "Jonathan is the king of talk shows and a valued member of the ITV family. He continues to attract the biggest names in showbiz onto his sofa and I am delighted that he will remain on the channel until at least the end of 2015." Ross said: "I've been lucky enough to interview some of the biggest stars around on The Jonathan Ross Show and I'm delighted that I'll continue to do so for ITV until at least the end of 2015 with two series booked for the channel for next year."
In November 2014, Ross designed a Paddington Bear statue, one of fifty created by various celebrities which were located around London prior to the release of the film Paddington, with the statues auctioned to raise funds for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
In 2015, Ross's 2004 interview with Amy Winehouse was featured in Asif Kapadia's highly praised documentary film about the late singer, entitled Amy. In 2017, Ross was a team captain along with Frank Skinner on the ITV panel show Don't Ask Me Ask Britain. In December 2017, Ross presented Guess the Star, a one-off special for ITV. On 9 September 2019, Ross was announced as a judge for The Masked Singer UK, the UK version of the international music game show Masked Singer, which aired on ITV from January 2020.
In September 2020, Ross started hosting his own 30-minute weekly ITV show called Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club. On 4 March 2021, it was announced by ITV that Ross would be on the celebrity panel of a brand new spin-off show of The Masked Singer UK, The Masked Dancer, which aired in spring 2021. Ross made his debut appearance on Celebrity Gogglebox on 2 July 2021, and was joined by his son, Harvey, daughter Honey and her boyfriend. In March 2023, Ross replaced Andrew Collins as presenter of the weekly radio show Saturday Night at the Movies on Classic FM. In May 2025, Ross was announced as a contestant on the upcoming first series of The Celebrity Traitors.
Ross resides in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London. He owns a second home in Swanage in Dorset and owns property in Florida in the United States.
Ross and others have used his rhotacism for comic effect, and he is sometimes known as "Wossy", including on his Twitter feed (@wossy).
Ross is a big pop music and rock music fan and maintains a particular interest in British punk rock, which captivated him when he was young. The first band he saw in concert was punk band X-Ray Spex at Islington's Hope and Anchor pub in North London. He paid tribute to lead singer Poly Styrene following her death. He has described himself as "about as big a fan of David Bowie as you will find on the planet". The glam rock art rock band Roxy Music are one of his all-time favourite acts and were invited to perform on the final episode of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
Ross is a fan of science fiction, including Doctor Who. He contributed his early memories of the series, which included the 1968 serial The Invasion, to a book which raised funds for Alzheimer's Research UK.
Ross is a fan of the animation studio Studio Ghibli, especially the works of director Hayao Miyazaki, and has been an early proponent of its works before its international popularity. He first saw Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1987, which he praises as "massively underrated", and considers Spirited Away to be a "masterpiece". He would later interview Miyazaki for Japanorama. Ross provided a minor voice role in one episode of Ronja, the Robber's Daughter.
Ross is also a fan of comic books and co-owned a comic shop in London with Paul Gambaccini. He released Turf, his first comic book, in 2010, with American artist Tommy Lee Edwards.
Ross has attended a fundraiser for the James Randi Educational Foundation called The Amazing Meeting in London in 2009 and 2010. Ross has described himself as a big fan of James Randi and the other speakers – who were mainly prominent sceptics – and said that he and his wife had come to have a sceptical view of the world. Ross has been supportive of Simon Singh's efforts to defend an accusation of libel by the British Chiropractic Association and Ross has posed for the Geek Calendar 2011, a fund raiser for The Libel Reform Campaign.
Ross's mother, Martha Ross, died on 14 January 2019, at the age of 79.
In 2023, Ross was integral to the preservation of the arcade version of Um Jammer Lammy, previously thought to be lost media, by allowing video game archivists access to his arcade cabinet, thought of as one of the world's last examples.
On 21 November 2008, the BBC Trust said that the phone calls were a "deplorable intrusion with no editorial justification". The trust gave its backing to Ross's 12-week suspension but recommended that no further action be taken against him. He returned to work in January 2009 with a new series of Friday Night. From 23 May 2009, Ross's BBC Radio 2 show was recorded 24 hours before broadcast.
An incorrect version of this quote was also circulated, in which Ross was accused of saying:
Ofcom received 61 complaints following the comment. On 7 July 2009, Ofcom ruled that Ross did not breach the broadcasting code. They wrote in their opinion that "the comment was clearly presented as a joke intended to make light of the reactions that some parents may have if their child chooses a toy that is very widely recognised to be designed and marketed for the opposite sex" and that the nature of the joke and tone and manner in which it was presented "made clear that it was not intended to be hostile or pejorative towards the gay community in general." Stonewall criticised the ruling; saying "the fact that a comment is light-hearted does not absolve it from perpetuating the stereotypes that lead to homophobic bullying."Geen, Jessica. "Stonewall: Ross's 'light-hearted' comment still encourages bullying" , Pink News, 6 July 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009
2010–present: ITV and Channel 4
Personal life
Controversies
BBC contract
David Cameron interview
"1,000 journalists" comment
Gwyneth Paltrow interview
The Russell Brand Show and Andrew Sachs
Homophobia accusation
Hugo Awards
Filmography
Television
As himself
1987–1997 The Last Resort Presenter Channel 4 1988–1989 The Incredibly Strange Film Show Presenter 1989–90 One Hour with Jonathan Ross Presenter 1990–1991 Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only Presenter 1990–92 Tonight With Jonathan Ross Presenter 1991–2007,
2009–2014British Comedy Awards Presenter 1992 Americana Co-presenter 1993 Saturday Zoo Presenter 1994 Gagtag Presenter BBC One 1995 Mondo Rosso Presenter BBC Two In Search of James Bond with Jonathan Ross Presenter ITV In Search of Dracula with Jonathan Ross Presenter 1996 The Late Jonathan Ross Presenter 1996–1997 The Big Big Talent Show Presenter ITV 1997 In Search of Hamlet Presenter 1998–2005 They Think It's All Over Regular panellist BBC One 1999–2002 It's Only TV...but I Like It Presenter 1999–2010 Film... Presenter 2001–2007 The Hollywood Greats Presenter 2001–2010 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Presenter 2001–2013,
2017Comic Relief Co-presenter 2002–2007 Japanorama Presenter BBC Choice
BBC Three2004 Britain's Best Sitcom Presenter BBC Two 2006 Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion Presenter BBC Four 2007 Comics Britannia Presenter In Search of Steve Ditko Presenter 2008 Jonathan Ross Salutes Dad's Army Presenter BBC One 2009 David Lean in Close-Up Presenter 2010 100 Greatest Toys Presenter Channel 4 2011, 2015 Presenter ITV (series 1)
The CW (series 2)2011–present The Jonathan Ross Show Presenter ITV 2013 Celebrity Deal or No Deal Contestant, won £20,000 Channel 4 2015 James Bond's Spectre with Jonathan Ross Presenter ITV 2017 Don't Ask Me Ask Britain Team captain Guess the Star Presenter 2017–2018 Takeshi's Castle Voiceover Comedy Central UK 2018–2019 Roast Battle Judge; series 2–3 2018,2020 The Big Narstie Show Guest, Season 1, Episode 6,
Season 3 Episode 6 Channel 4 2020 Jonathan Ross's Comedy Club Presenter ITV 2020–present The Masked Singer UK Judge 2021 Celebrity Gogglebox Cast Member The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2021 Contestant 2021–2022 The Masked Dancer UK Judge 2022 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Guest team captain Channel 4 The Big Fat Quiz of the Year Panelist (with Rose Matafeo) Jonathan Ross' New Year Comedy Special Presenter ITV 2023 Jonathan Ross: Must-Watch Films Presenter ITVX Myths and Legends with Jonathan Ross Presenter More4 Big Zuu's Big Eats Guest Dave Britain Get Singing Judge ITV 2024 Oscars Live Host 2025 The Celebrity Traitors Contestant; series one BBC One
As actor
1981 It Ain't Half Hot Mum Soldier Episode: "The Last Roll Call" 1990 Your Cheatin' Heart Himself Episode: "This Could Turn Septic On Us,
Ya Big Ungrateful Midden"1993 French and Saunders Johnny Carson Episode: "The Silence of the Lambs" 2000 Jonathan Creek Himself Episode: "The Three Gamblers" 2001 Happiness Himself Episode: "Celebration" Rex the Runt Awards Announcer /
Handsome Rex (voice)2 episodes Only Fools and Horses Himself Episode: "If They Could See Us Now.....!" 2003–2004 Bo' Selecta! Himself 2 episodes 2006 Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive Himself Episode: "1.1" 2006–2007 Extras Himself 2 episodes 2018 Legends & Lies James Pettigrew Episode: "Gettysburg: The High Water Mark"
Film
1980 Breaking Glass Extra Uncredited 1981 Rise and Fall of Idi Amin Israeli Soldier Uncredited 1989 The Tall Guy Himself 1994 There's No Business... Himself 1997 Pervirella Bish Archop Spice World Himself 2004 Shrek 2 Doris the Ugly Stepsister UK dub 2005 Valiant Big Thug (voice)
Television advertisements
1970 Kellogg's Rice Krispies Himself Persil Himself 1990 Harp Lager Himself 1992 IBM 486 Computer Himself, voice only 1996 The Sun/Woolworths Himself 1997 Pizza Hut Himself cinema release Himself, voice only 1998 The Full Monty home video Himself, voice only Sure for Men Himself 1999 ONdigital Himself 2000 Fish4 Himself, voice only Milk Marketing Board Himself, voice only TVTimes Himself, voice only 2001 Nestle Polo Smoothies Himself, voice only 2008 WHSmith Half Price Books Offer Himself, voice only 2010 Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary Himself 2012 Sky+ Himself
Video games
Uncredited iOS game. Made by Ross's own company. Voice only
Animation
The Ducky MoMo guy (cameo)
Honours and awards
Further reading
External links
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