Jon Joel Richardson (born 26 September 1982) is an English comedian and radio presenter. He is known for his appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and his work as co-host with Russell Howard on BBC Radio 6 Music. He presented Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier, and also features with his wife Lucy Beaumont in the TV show Meet the Richardsons.
| Jon Richardson | |
|---|---|
 Richardson in 2016 | |
| Birth name | Jon Joel Richardson |
| Born | 26 September 1982[1] Lancaster, England |
| Medium | Stand-up comedy and writing |
| Education | University of Bristol |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Notable works and roles | 8 Out of 10 Cats 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown |
| Website | jonrichardsoncomedy |
Biography
editRichardson was born in 1982 in Lancaster, England, where he was also brought up.[2][3] He attended Ryelands Primary School and Lancaster Royal Grammar School.[4] He left the University of Bristol after taking Hispanic Studies for a year and a half, and subsequently spent some time working as a chef.[5] He then decided to pursue a career in comedy, and lived with fellow comedians Russell Howard, Mark Olver and John Robins for a year in Bristol.[6]
Richardson entered and won his heat of the BBC New Talent Comedy Search in May 2003. He also reached the semi-finals of the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year competition in 2004.[7] Quickly developing throughout 2004, he was one of six acts to reach the final of the J2O Last Laugh Comedy Search. He marked the end of his first year in comedy with a performance at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End. Judges Jasper Carrott and Dave Spikey were both "extremely impressed" with Richardson's performance.
In 2006, Richardson appeared in The Comedy Zone at the Edinburgh Festival. He also completed a 60-date British and Irish tour with Alan Carr, and made an appearance on Paramount's The Comedy Store. In 2007, Spatula Pad (Richardson's first solo show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe) earned him a Best Newcomer nomination at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[8] Richardson won the 2008 Chortle Award for Best Breakthrough Act,[9] and performed Dogmatic (his second solo show) at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He later took this show around the country in his first solo tour. He appeared as a team captain in Simon Mayo's 2008 series Act Your Age on BBC Radio 4.
Richardson co-hosted a Sunday morning radio show on BBC Radio 6 Music with fellow comedian and friend Russell Howard, and after Howard left, he continued to present the show himself until 7 March 2010.
In early 2009, Richardson's show This Guy at Night was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards main prize.[10] That year, he appeared on the BBC music quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He also appeared on Have I Got News for You in December 2009 and October 2010, and was a guest on David Mitchell's The Bubble.
Richardson appeared on the BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk in February 2010. He was curator of The Museum of Curiosity for its third series. On 21 March 2010, he presented a BBC Three programme about compulsions and strange habits, entitled Different Like Me. Richardson has performed at comedy festivals in Leeds, Guildford, and Bristol, and has headlined university gigs for Off the Kerb and Avalon. He has also compèred in the French Alps, headlined in Barcelona, and performed a one-man show in Greece. In 2010 he also performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[5]
Starting with the 11th series of Channel 4's panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats, Richardson took over from Jason Manford as a team captain. Filming for the series began in June 2011. It's Not Me, It's You!, Richardson's first book, was published during the same month. Later in 2011, he became a regular comic on the Channel 4 show Stand Up for the Week, which was hosted by Kevin Bridges during its second series. Upon Bridges's departure, Richardson took over as host, a role he left after series 4 in 2012. Since January 2012, he has also been a regular on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Richardson presented a 2012 documentary entitled A Little Bit OCD, in which he studied the lives of people diagnosed with OCD and worried that he might have the same condition; he was indeed revealed to exhibit symptoms of OCD, but did not show signs of the accompanying dysfunction. The show won the 2013 Mind Award in the documentary category.[11]
On 19 November 2012, Richardson released his first stand up DVD, Funny Magnet. The performance was recorded at the Apollo Theatre in Hammersmith on 9 September 2012. The DVD also features Richardson's set from Live at the Apollo and audio commentary with his then-housemate, comedian Matt Forde.
In December 2012, Channel 4 broadcast The Real Man's Road Trip: Sean & Jon Go West,[12] a two-part series in which Richardson and his 8 Out of 10 Cats colleague Sean Lock travelled to Louisiana to experience the local culture and lifestyle. The show was filmed in September 2012.
Richardson began Work in Progress shows in late 2013, and in 2014 took his new show Nidiot on the road culminating in a DVD of the same name.[13] In August 2013 he headlined the comedy stage at the V Festival.
Appearing on Radio 5's Fighting Talk on 11 January 2014, Richardson said his worst ever gig was a couple of months previously at Doncaster Dome. He claimed the initial smattering of applause quickly reduced through his time on stage.[14]
Richardson has presented two series of the Dave panel show Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier, in which he and his guests discuss their worries.
In 2020, Richardson appeared in the mockumentary sitcom Meet the Richardsons for UKTV's Dave and presented Channel Hopping With Jon Richardson on Comedy Central. The former is a documentary-style sitcom written by Richardson's wife Lucy Beaumont with Tim Reid, in which Lucy has to deal with an exaggerated version of Richardson's character,[15] whilst the latter is a weird TV clips show in the style of Clive James on Television, but with Richardson presenting and two other guests discussing the clips each week.[16][17][18][19][20] In 2020 Richardson also launched the podcast Jon Richardson and the Futurenauts with co-hosts Mark Stevenson and Ed Gillespie to discuss systemic societal problems and their solutions. The podcast has received overwhelming positive reviews.[21] The Arts Desk remarked "without making light of [the subject matter], Richardson and Co find the funny."[22] Since 2020, Richardson has also co-hosted the Down the Dog podcast with Matt Forde.[23]
In January 2023, Richardson and Beaumont launched Jon & Lucy's Odd Couples - a panel show featuring celebrity couples answering questions about their private lives and performing various tasks to test their relationships. The show was first announced in 2022 with an order of 6 hour-long episodes.[24][25]
In June 2023, Richardson was made an honorary member of Sheffield F.C. after he visited the club to film for Meet the Richardsons, along with Adrian Chiles and Matt Forde.[26]
On 13 August 2024, it was announced that Richardson would return to radio in September that same year to present a Saturday morning show on Absolute Radio.[27]
Personal life
editRichardson lived in Swindon for seven years,[28] then in Surbiton, London, with fellow comedians Matt Forde and Danny Buckler. He also lived with comedians John Robins and Russell Howard.[6] In a 2012 interview with Woman magazine, he mentioned he had bought a house in the Lake District for his mother.[29] He is a vegan[30] and supporter of Leeds United. In July 2019 Richardson mentioned on Saturday Kitchen that he had moved across to Calder Valley, West Yorkshire, from Lancashire.[31]
He married comedian Lucy Beaumont in April 2015; the pair were introduced by the mutual friend and comedian Roisin Conaty and dated for about two years prior to marriage. They have a daughter born in September 2016.[32][33] Richardson and Beaumont announced their separation in April 2024.[34][35]
Richardson has explored whether he has OCD, concluding that he instead has obsessive-compulsive personality disorder;[36] this was the subject of his Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Spatula Pad.[37][38] In 2018, Richardson told Radio Times that he had been to counselling for six months, calling it "an immensely positive step". Saying "I wish I'd done it sooner", Richardson said "acknowledging there's a problem is the best thing" and recommended counselling to "anyone who's even mildly upset about anything".[39]
Richardson was an outspoken critic of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party and, under Keir Starmer's leadership, participated in a political advert for the party in the run up to the 2024 general election in the UK.[40][41]
Stand-up shows
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Dogmatic | |
| 2009–10 | This Guy at Night | Nominated – Edinburgh Comedy Award[42] |
| 2010–11 | Don't Happy, Be Worry | |
| 2011–12 | Funny Magnet | |
| 2014 | Nidiot | |
| 2017–18 | Old Man | |
| 2020–24 | The Knitwit |
DVD releases
edit| Title | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Funny Magnet | 19 November 2012 | Live at London's Apollo Theatre |
| Jon Richardson Live: Nidiot | 1 December 2014 | Live at London's Hammersmith Apollo |
| Old Man (Live)[43] | 19 November 2018 | Live at Blackpool's Grand Theatre |
Filmography
editTelevision and radio
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | After Hours | Documentary |
| 2005 | The Henry Kelly Show | |
| Live at the Comedy Store | ||
| Steve Lamacq's Roundtable | BBC 6 Music | |
| Most Annoying Pop Moments: We Hate to Love | ||
| Comedy Shuffle | Appeared in three sketches entitled 'Fearing the Worst' | |
| 4 Stands Up | ||
| Out to Lunch | ||
| It's Debatable | ||
| Never Write Off the Germans | ||
| 2006–2008 | The Russell Howard Show | BBC 6 Music[44] |
| 2007 | 28 Acts in 28 Minutes | BBC Radio 4 |
| 2008–2010 | The Jon Richardson Show | |
| 2009 | Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow | |
| Walk on the Wild Side | Voice only[45] | |
| 2009–2010 | Never Mind the Buzzcocks | |
| 2009–2011 | Have I Got News for You | |
| 2010 | The Bubble | |
| Spicks and Specks | ||
| Grouchy Young Men | ||
| Different Like Me | ||
| The Vote Now Show | ||
| Richard Bacon's Beer & Pizza Club | ||
| The Museum of Curiosity | ||
| Act Your Age | Team captain | |
| 8 Out of 10 Cats | Guest | |
| 2010–2011 | Fighting Talk | |
| 2011 | Stand Up for the Week | |
| The Graham Norton Show | ||
| 2011–2015 | 8 Out of 10 Cats | Team captain |
| 2012–present | 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown | Team captain |
| 2012 | Comedy World Cup | |
| A Little Bit OCD | ||
| The Real Man's Road Trip: Sean & Jon Go West | ||
| 2013 | Room 101 | Guest |
| 2013–2018 | Would I Lie to You? | Guest |
| 2014 | Jon Richardson Grows Up | |
| 2016 | Taskmaster | Contestant |
| 2016–2017 | The One Show | Guest presenter; 4 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier | Presenter |
| 2019 | Comedians Watching Football with Friends[46] | |
| The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C | Contestant[47] | |
| Saturday Kitchen | Guest[48] | |
| 2020 | Channel Hopping With Jon Richardson | |
| The Jonathan Ross Show | Guest[49] | |
| The Last Leg | Guest[50] | |
| Saturday Morning with James Martin | Guest[51] | |
| 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Christmas Special 2020 | Team captain[52] | |
| Kevin McCloud's Rough Guide to the Future | ||
| 2020–2024 | Meet the Richardsons | |
| 2021 | Celebrity Trash Monsters | Presenter[53] |
| Jon & Lucy's Christmas Sleepover | Co-host with Lucy Beaumont[54] | |
| 2022–2023 | Celebrity Gogglebox | With Lucy Beaumont |
| 2022 | One Night In... Legoland (With Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker) | Guest with Lucy Beaumont[55] |
| Jon Richardson: Take My Mother-in-Law | Presenter[56] | |
| Jon & Lucy's Party of the Year | Co-host with Lucy Beaumont[57] | |
| 2023 | Jon & Lucy's Odd Couples | Co-host with Lucy Beaumont[58] |
| The Wheel | Expert[59] |
References
edit- ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Jon Richardson". British Comedy Guide.
- ^ "Lancaster funnyman Jon Richardson celebrates 40th birthday with a pub quiz in Morecambe". Beyond Radio. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
Lancaster comedian Jon Richardson spent his 40th birthday this week doing a quiz at a Morecambe pub.
- ^ Bryning, Louise (27 July 2023). "Sold out: Tickets for Lancaster comedian Jon Richardson's return gig in aid of hospice snapped up 'quicker than ever'". Retrieved 22 September 2023.
the 40-year-old comedian is a former pupil of Ryelands Primary School
- ^ "Night of laughs for hospice appeal". The Visitor. 8 July 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- ^ a b "The Jon Richardson Interview". 2-UpTop. April 2010. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- ^ a b "A Little Bit OCD". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ Petty, Alex. "Laughing Horse New Act of the Year". Laughinghorsecomedy.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ^ "Best Newcomer 2009". Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ "The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ "2009 Shortlist". Edinburgh Comedy Awards. 29 August 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ "Scott Mills announces winners at 20th Mind Media Awards, sponsored by Virgin Money Giving". Mind. 5 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ "The Real Man's Road Trip – Sean and Jon Go West". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 26 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ "Nidiot DVD available now". jonrichardsoncomedy.com. 1 December 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- ^ BBC Radio 5, Fighting Talk, 11 January 2014
- ^ "Dave orders sitcom starring Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont". British Comedy Guide. 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ "News: Comedy Central Shows For Jon Richardson And Sara Pascoe". Beyond The Joke. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Kanter, Jake (23 September 2020). "Comedy Central UK Greenlights 'Guessable' & 'Channel Hopping With Jon Richardson'". Deadline. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "Jon Richardson to host Comedy Central clip show : News 2020 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Channel Hopping With Jon Richardson - Comedy Central Comedy". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Comedy Central orders Channel Hopping With Jon Richardson". British Comedy Guide. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Jon Richardson and the Futurenauts - How To Survive The Future on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Comedy podcasts round-up 1: from home and abroad". theartsdesk.com. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ Forrest, Jo (16 August 2023). "Jon Richardson and Matt Ford head 'Down The Dog'". TotalNtertainment. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont seek the perfect celebrity couples". Chortle. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ Richardson, Jay (17 May 2022). "Channel 4 orders Jon And Lucy's Perfect Couples panel show". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ Cumber, Robert (7 June 2023). "Sheffield FC: Comedian Jon Richardson visits world's oldest football club to film TV show Meet the Richardsons". The Star. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "Absolute Radio signs Jon Richardson for weekend show". RadioToday. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ Dixon, Peter (11 November 2012). "Jon Richardson: "Nothing I say deserves repeating in posterity"". Giggle Beats. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- ^ "Jon Richardson Appreciation Society". Facebook. 24 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont: 'This country is in a really bad state and there is no point in pretending that it isn't'". Belfasttelegraph.
- ^ Jon Richardson BBC1 Saturday Kitchen Live, 06/07/2019
- ^ Kettle, James (13 September 2014). "Jon Richardson: 'I didn't have any sex, I didn't do any drugs'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Elis James and John Robins XFM Podcast, Episode 63". XFM. 25 April 2015. Archived from the original on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "Post by @RonJichardson". X. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
- ^ "Comedians Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont announce divorce". Sky News. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
- ^ "Jon Richardson on worrying, being a dad, and OCD".
- ^ Sherlock, Gemma (15 July 2016). "Jon Richardson returns to Morecambe Winter Gardens for Lancaster hospice". The Visitor. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- ^ "Bio-Jon Richardson". Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- ^ Taylor, Frances (16 May 2018). "What does Jon Richardson worry about?". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ Labour Party (3 June 2024). The Big Short: Rishi Sunak 🛁. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Naked Jon Richardson takes swipe at Rishi Sunak in new Labour election advert. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024 – via www.independent.co.uk.
- ^ "Jon Richardson: This Guy at Night's description". Chortle. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ @RonJichardson (19 November 2018). "My DVD is out today! If all copies are not sold immediately it is inevitable that I will be forced onto TV and radi..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "On Air Now: 19:00 – 22:00: Russell Howard". BBC 6 Music. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ "Comedians go wild". Chortle.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ "Comedians Watching Football With Friends - Sky1 Comedy". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ "The Great Celebrity Bake Off 2019 episode 1: meet the bakers". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ @SaturdayKitchen (6 July 2019). "We're SO happy to have @RonJichardson ! Tune in at 10am" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 July 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "The Jonathan Ross Show". radiotimes.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "The Last Leg". channel4.com. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ "James Martin's Saturday Morning". itv.com. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- ^ "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown". channel4.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- ^ "Celebrity Trash Monsters". channel4.com. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
- ^ "Jon & Lucy's Christmas Sleepover". channel4.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ "One Night In... Series 1, Episode 4 - LEGOLAND". British Comedy Guide.
- ^ "Jon Richardson: Take My Mother-in-Law". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "Watch Jon & Lucy's Party of the Year | Stream free on Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "Jon & Lucy's Odd Couples". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
- ^ "BBC One - Michael McIntyre's The Wheel, Series 3, Episode 9". BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2023.