His first television appearance was in 2007 on the RTÉ topical-comedy show The Panel, where he was a regular panelist until 2008.[citation needed] He subsequently appeared in seasons 3 and 4 of the E4 teen drama Skins and the Ken Loach film Route Irish. He has also hosted his own shows such as John Bishop's Britain (2010–2011), John Bishop's Only Joking (2013), and two versions of The John Bishop Show (2015, 2022). He also has played the companion Dan Lewis in Doctor Who from 2021 to 2022.
Bishop had a regular Sunday slot on Liverpool radio station Radio City called Bishop's Sunday Service. He is also known for his charity work, most notably raising £4.2 million for Sport Relief 2012.
Early life
John Bishop was born at Mill Road Hospital in Everton, Liverpool on 30 November 1966,[3][4] the son of housewife Kathleen (née Hackett) (d. 2023) and labourer Edward Bishop, a couple from nearby Huyton.[5] He has an older brother, footballer Eddie, and two older sisters, Kathy and Carol.[6] He grew up mostly in the Cheshire towns of Runcorn and Winsford, attending Murdishaw West Primary School and Brookvale Comprehensive School (now known as Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy).[5] He briefly studied English at Newcastle Polytechnic,[7][8] and gained a BA in Social Science from Manchester Polytechnic.[9] He later became a medical representative for the pharmaceutical company Syntex, where he worked until leaving in 2006 to pursue his comedy career full-time at the age of 40.[10]
Career
John Bishop
Bishop carrying the Olympic Torch at Jodrell Bank in 2012
Bishop performed stand-up comedy for the first time in Manchester in October 2000 and, the following year, made it to the final of all the major new act competitions, including So You Think You're Funny, the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Awards, the BBC New Comedy Awards, and the City Life North West Comedian of The Year Award, which he won. In 2002, he was named best newcomer by BBC Radio Merseyside, and in 2004, he won the North West Comedy Award for best stand-up.[13] In 2009, Bishop appeared as the first act on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow in Manchester. That year, he appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where his show Elvis Has Left the Building was nominated for an "Eddie" (Edinburgh Comedy Award).[14]
In 2009, Bishop appeared in Channel 4's series Comedy Showcase and was a contestant on Celebrity Mastermind. He also appeared in the BBC Three sitcom Lunch Monkeys as fireman Terry. He has appeared five times on 5 Live'sFighting Talk quiz show, claiming four victories on the programme. His material is drawn from his life's experiences, including fatherhood, cycling around the world, playing semi-professional football, and working as a nightclub doorman. Bishop's first television appearance was in 2007 on the RTÉ topical-comedy show The Panel, where he was a regular panelist until 2008.[citation needed] He then went onto the Channel 4 panel show 8 out of 10 Cats before appearing on the BBC's Live at the Apollo. In December 2009, Bishop started his own TV show on LFC TV called John Bishop Meets..., where he interviewed former Liverpool football players.
On 28 July 2013, Bishop headlined the Vodafone comedy festival in Dublin's Iveagh Gardens. Before the gig, a reporter called Brian Boyd interviewed him about his recently replenished marriage and how his wife eventually found him funny again.[16]
In December 2014, he appeared in A Night in with Olly Murs where he and Olly Murs had a lip-sync battle. In 2015, Bishop presented his own variety show on BBC One called The John Bishop Show.
Since September 2016, Bishop has presented John Bishop: In Conversation With... for the W channel.[21] Two series have been aired: the show will return for a third series.
On 21 September 2016, Bishop was confirmed to have a role in ITV drama series Fearless, which aired in 2017.[22]
On 29 September 2016, Bishop announced that he would be going on tour for the fifth time in October and November 2017 with a show titled Winging It.[23]
In August 2019, Bishop began presenting a football programme called Back of the Net for Amazon Prime Video with Peter Crouch and Gabby Logan.[24]
On 8 September 2020, Bishop and writer, actor and director Tony Pitts launched their new podcast called Three Little Words. This podcast was launched on the Crowd Network podcasting platform, which has financial backing from John Bishop and was started by a group of ex-BBC executives.[25][26]
At the 2010 British Comedy Awards, Bishop won the Best Male Comedy Breakthrough Artist award.[30] He became the Number 1 "Star in a reasonably priced car" on Top Gear on Sunday 23 January 2011 after he appeared on the BBC Two show. He drove the Kia Cee'd around the test track in 1 minute and 42.8 seconds to become the fastest star in the latest reasonably priced car, knocking Tom Cruise off the top. Bishop's record lasted nearly half a year until being knocked off by Rowan Atkinson (1 minute 42.2 seconds) on Sunday 17 July 2011. He was also the fastest in the League of Their Own skeleton race, beating Georgie Thompson and James Corden.
On 18 July 2014, Bishop was awarded an honorary fellowship at Liverpool John Moores University in recognition of his contribution to the arts and charity work during a ceremony at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral.
On 11 July 2018, Bishop won the Celebrity Animal Champion award at the RSPCA Honours Awards for his work with rescue animals.[31] On 25 July 2019, Bishop received an HonoraryDoctor of Arts degree from Manchester Metropolitan University for his charity work, and the contributions he has made to comedy and the arts.[32]
In 2014, Bishop once again took part in Sport Relief as a team captain for the Clash of the Titans event, competing against Sebastian Coe and his team. In May 2014, Bishop donated £96,000 to the Hillsborough Family Support Group after being moved by personal statements delivered by the victims' families at their inquests. On 8 June 2014, he took part in his second Soccer Aid football match, again playing for England, this time losing 4–2 to the Rest of the World. On 5 June 2016, he took part in his third Soccer Aid match, playing on England's team.
In 2020, Bishop donated 100 laptops to his former school, Brookvale Academy, as he warned of a "gulf" in society risks leaving children behind.[36]
Bishop competed in the Ciaran Geddes memorial match at the Deva Stadium, scoring two goals while playing with his brother Eddie for Chester.[37]
Personal life
Bishop is nephew of Alice Hines who was a sub organist at Chester Cathedral and wrote a few published organ pieces according to an article which appeared in The Organist Review May 2012. John has memories of occasional visits to the organ loft as a youngster. Bishop has been married to his wife Melanie since 1993, though they were separated for 18 months starting in 2000.[38][39] They have three sons: Joe (born 1994), Luke (born 1996), and Daniel (born 1998).[38][40] Until 2019, they lived at Whatcroft Hall in Northwich, Cheshire. The property is a Grade II listedGeorgian mansion.[41] In April 2019, he sold the home for £6.2 million to the HS2 rail project, despite his vocal criticism of the project, and moved to West Sussex.[41][42]
Bishop enjoys playing football and is an avid Liverpool FC fan, a fact frequently brought up on the show A League of Their Own, on which he was a panellist. In July 2010, he took part in protests against then-owners of Liverpool FC, Tom Hicks and George Gillett,[43] and later took part in a celebrity-studded protest video on YouTube.[44]
Bishop pre-recorded a video message for the 2011 Labour Party conference, which was held in Liverpool.[45]
Bishop has been a vegetarian since 1985,[46][47] which he discussed on BBC Two's Something for The Weekend and his episode on food on his stand-up show John Bishop's Britain.[48] In 2013, PETA declared him to be one of the "Sexiest Vegetarians" of the year.[49]
In September 2016, Bishop was ranked tenth place on Forbes' Top 10 Highest Paid Comedians List, earning £5.4 million a year, making him the UK's highest earning comedian.[50]
On 30 December 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bishop revealed that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 on Christmas Day and described it as the "worst illness [he has] ever had".[51]
While driving in Wales on 21 July 2021, Bishop crashed his Land Rover Discovery after swerving to avoid another driver who had swerved to avoid a "big chicken". He was on his way to take a ferry to Ireland and was unhurt.[52][53]
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