Jon Richardson (comedian)

Jon Richardson

Richardson on an episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats, 2012
Birth name Jon Joel Richardson
Born (1982-09-26) 26 September 1982
Lancaster, Lancashire, England
Medium Stand-up comedy and writer
Nationality British
Spouse Lucy Beaumont (m. 2015)
Notable works and roles 8 Out of 10 Cats
Website www.jonrichardsoncomedy.com

Jon Joel Richardson (born 26 September 1982)[1] is an English comedian. 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 6 Music.

Career

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.[2] Quickly developing throughout 2004, he was one of six acts to reach the final of the J2O Last Laugh Comedy Search. Having impressed a sell-out crowd in Bristol, 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.[3] Richardson won the 2008 Chortle Award for Best Breakthrough Act,[4] 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 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.[5] 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.[6]

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, where it was revealed that he is unable to count to 100 in 30 seconds.[7]

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.[8]

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 housemate, comedian Matt Forde.

In December 2012, Channel 4 broadcast The Real Man's Road Trip – Sean and Jon Go West, 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.[9] 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.[10]

Personal life

Richardson was born and raised in Lancaster, Lancashire, and attended Ryelands Primary School and Lancaster Royal Grammar School.[11] 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.[6] 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.[12]

Richardson then moved to Swindon and lived there for five years.[13] He later lived in Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, London, with fellow comedians Matt Forde and Danny Buckler.[12] In a 2012 interview with Woman magazine, he mentioned he had bought a house in the Lake District.[14]

In an edition of 8 Out of 10 Cats broadcast 11 October 2013, Richardson revealed to his teammate Carol Vorderman that he no longer lives alone as, he said, "I've got a girlfriend... I live with her". She was previously mentioned in episodes of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Richardson and his girlfriend, comedian Lucy Beaumont, lived then in south-west London.[15] During the first episode of Richardson and Matt Forde's Channel 4 documentary series Jon Richardson Grows Up, broadcast in September 2014, Richardson revealed that he and Beaumont were engaged.[6] The couple were married in April 2015.[16]

Richardson is an avid supporter of Leeds United.

Filmography

Television and radio

Year Title Notes
Unknown After Hours Documentary
Unknown The Henry Kelly Show
Unknown Live at the Comedy Store
Unknown Steve Lamacq's Roundtable BBC 6 Music
Unknown Most Annoying Pop Moments: We Hate To Love
Unknown Comedy Shuffle Appeared in three sketches entitled 'Fearing The Worst'
Unknown 4 Stands Up
Unknown Out to Lunch
Unknown It's Debatable
Unknown Never Write Off the Germans
2006–2008 The Russell Howard Show BBC 6 Music[17]
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[18]
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–present 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
Would I Lie To You? Guest
2014 Jon Richardson Grows Up

Stand-Up DVDs

Year Title
2012 Funny Magnet
2014 Nidiot

Edinburgh credits

Year Title Notes
2005 Big Value Early Show Served as compère
2006 The Comedy Zone
2007 Spatula Pad Nominated – Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer
2008 Dogmatic
2009 This Guy at Night Nominated – Edinburgh Comedy Award[19]
2010 Don't Happy, Be Worry
GIT With Dan Atkinson and Lloyd Langford
2011 It's Not Me, It's You!

References

  1. "Jon Richardson". Last FM. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  2. Alex Petty. "Laughing Horse New Act of the Year". Laughinghorsecomedy.co.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  3. "Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2009 – newcomers". Comedyawards.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  4. "The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  5. "Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2009 – 2009 shortlist". Comedyawards.co.uk. 29 August 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 "The Jon Richardson Interview". 2-UpTop. April 2010.
  7. Channel 4 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, 29 December 2014
  8. http://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/scott-mills-announces-winners-at-20th-mind-media-awards,-sponsored-by-virgin-money-giving/
  9. http://www.jonrichardsoncomedy.com/
  10. BBC Radio 5 Fighting Talk 11 January 2014
  11. "Night of laughs for hospice appeal". The Visitor. 8 July 2013.
  12. 1 2 A Little Bit OCD on Channel 4's website
  13. Peter Dixon (11 November 2012). "Jon Richardson: "Nothing I say deserves repeating in posterity"". Giggle Beats.
  14. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152278449810562&set=o.2260900000&type=3&theater
  15. "Jon Richardson: 'I didn't have any sex, I didn't do any drugs'". The Guardian. 13 September 2014.
  16. "Elis James and John Robins XFM Podcast, Episode 63". XFM. 25 April 2015.
  17. "On Air Now: 19:00 – 22:00: Russell Howard". BBC 6 Music. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  18. "Comedians go wild". Chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  19. "Jon Richardson: This Guy at Night's description". Chortle. Retrieved 8 May 2010.

External links

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