Background and career
Jason John Manford (born 26 May 1981) is an English comedian, singer, presenter and actor. Manford was a team captain on the Channel 4 panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats from 2007 until 2010 and has presented television shows for the BBC and ITV including Comedy Rocks (2010–2011), The One Show (2010), Show Me the Funny (2011), A Question of Sport: Super Saturday (2014), Bigheads (2017) and Children in Need (2022), and was one of four judges on ITV's Starstruck (2022). Manford has starred in stage musicals in the West End and across the UK such as Sweeney Todd, The Producers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Guys and Dolls, Curtains and The Wizard of Oz. In 2026, he starred as one of the leading roles in the UK premiere of Broadway Musical ‘’Something Rotten!’’, during its opening run in Manchester.
Jason John Manford was born on 26 May 1981 in Salford, the son of Sharon (née Ryan) and courtroom stenographer and trade union shop steward in the NHS Ian Manford. His maternal grandmother, Nora (née Peate), was an Irish Catholic from Dublin. Manford and his four siblings grew up in a terraced house in the Whalley Range area of Manchester. 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 this was what got him into singing. During a Twitter exchange in which Manford defended strike action by British railway workers in the ASLEF trade union, he recalled his various workplaces before his comedy 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. 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.
From June to November 2007, Manford had a small part in Ideal as Jack. He later made another appearance in episode five of the series. He hosted a breakfast show on XFM Manchester until May 2008. From June to November 2007, Manford was 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. 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 Question of Sport: Super Saturday, 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. 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 August 2024, Manford became the presenter of another BBC quiz show The Answer Run. 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.
Following a successful first UK tour 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. 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.
Manford comes from a family of singers and musicians 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 the show, and has released an album of show tunes, titled A Different Stage. On 25 November 2022, Manford released the single "Assembly Bangers", a song he had been closing his standup show with. The track is a medley of songs nostalgically associated with school assemblies including "This Little Light of Mine", "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and "Lord of the Dance". Profits were donated to Trussell Trust's Emergency Fund Appeal. The single charted at number two on the UK Official Singles Sales Chart on 2 December 2022. On 16 December 2022, Manford released Assembly Bangers: The Album with Chris Sutherland, with the "Christmas Assembly Bangers" single being released on the same day. Proceeds were donated to the Trussell Trust.
Manford made his musical theatre debut appearing for a short run as Adolfo Pirelli in the 2012 West End revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opposite Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton at the Adelphi Theatre. In 2015, he starred as Leo Bloom in Mel Brooks' The Producers on a UK tour alongside Cory English, Phill Jupitus, Ross Noble, Louie Spence and David Bedella. The following year in 2016 to 2017 he played Caractacus Potts (sharing the role with Lee Mead) in the UK tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang opposite Phill Jupitus, Andy Hockley, Michelle Collins, Martin Kemp and Carrie Hope Fletcher. In 2018, Manford appeared as Nathan Detroit in a staged concert of Guys and Dolls at the Royal Albert Hall with Adrian Lester, Stephen Mangan, Joe Stilgoe and Clive Rowe. 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. Manford appeared as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz from June to September 2023 at the London Palladium opposite Ashley Banjo, Dianne Pilkington, Christina Bianco and Gary Wilmot. He reprised the role the following year when the UK tour visited the Palace Theatre, Manchester. In 2024, Manford appeared as Nick Bottom in a concert version of the Broadway musical Something Rotten! at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane opposite Marisha Wallace, Gary Wilmot, Richard Fleeshman and Evelyn Hoskins. He will reprise the role in July 2026 at the Manchester Opera House in its full-staged UK premiere. Since 2022, Manford has starred in the Christmas pantomimes at the Manchester Opera House including Peter Pan, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and in 2025 will appear in Robin Hood. In 2025, Manford announced he is currently writing a new musical with Gary Barlow and Joe Stilgoe about Captain Hook (the antagonist of Peter Pan) as a "Wicked-style" origin story.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
