John Bishop

John Bishop was born at Mill Road Hospital in Everton, Liverpool, on 30 November 1966 (Saint Andrew's Day), the son of housewife Kathleen (née Hackett) (d. 2023) and labourer Edward Bishop, a couple from nearby Huyton. He has an older brother, footballer Eddie, and two older sisters. 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). and gained a BA in Social Science from Manchester Polytechnic. 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. ==Career==

Bishop split with his wife Melanie in October 2000, citing their relationship grew apart "after having three kids so quickly". To cheer himself up, he attended the Frog and Bucket comedy club in Manchester, where he put his name down for an Open Mic Night, not knowing what it was, just to avoid paying the £4 entry fee. He performed well in front of an audience of seven people, and was encouraged to return every week, which he saw as a form of counselling. One of his regular jokes was about how he missed his ex so much that he kept her severed head in the fridge. On one instance, as he said this joke, he realised his wife was in the audience, while they were in the final stages of their divorce proceedings. After the gig, they ended up chatting and reconciled as she was reminded of his earlier, funnier self. He credits comedy for saving his marriage. The following year, he 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. 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). 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's Fighting 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 semiprofessional 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. 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. In 2010, Bishop was a celebrity team captain on What Do Kids Know? with Rufus Hound, Joe Swash and Sara Cox on Watch. He has also appeared on BBC's Mock the Week, and Radio 4's Act Your Age. In series 3 and series 4 of Skins, Bishop portrayed Emily and Katie Fitch's father. In 2010, Bishop appeared in Ken Loach's Route Irish, which premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Bishop is a regular panelist on Sky1 show, A League of Their Own, as well as a stand-up/sketch show for BBC One titled ''John Bishop's Britain. On 11 July 2010, Bishop came runner-up in the second-ever game of How Many Peter Jones'?'' on ITV's ''James Corden's World Cup Live. He has appeared as a panellist on BBC programmes Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You?, and on QI. On 28 October 2010, he also guest hosted an episode of series 40 of Have I Got News For You''. On 12 February 2010, during an appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross it was revealed that prior to his TV breakthrough, Bishop had worked as a warm-up for the show. In March 2011, Bishop and fellow comedians Alan Carr, James Corden, Catherine Tate, and David Walliams appeared in the video for Take That's single "Happy Now" for Comic Relief. On 24 June 2012, he appeared on Desert Island Discs. On 28 August and 4 September 2012, he appeared in Accused as Peter for two episodes. In late 2012, Bishop appeared on BBC genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? and on an ITV one-off episode called Panto!, where he starred as a local Morecambe disc jockey called Lewis Loud. As of January 2013, Bishop hosts ''John Bishop's Only Joking'' on Sky 1. in 2012 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. His autobiography titled How Did All This Happen? was published in October 2013. In 2015, Bishop presented his own variety show on BBC One called The John Bishop Show. In May 2015, he appeared as a special guest at the Liverpool date of Murs's Never Been Better Tour and performed "Troublemaker" with him. In January 2016, he took part in the BBC series Stargazing Live, appearing from the European Astronaut Centre, and following Tim Peake's astronaut training programme with a simulated spacewalk, underwater. Since September 2016, Bishop has presented John Bishop: In Conversation With... for the W channel. 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. 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. In August 2019, Bishop began presenting a football programme called Back of the Net for Amazon Prime Video with Peter Crouch and Gabby Logan. 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. On 1 January 2021, Bishop announced that he would join the cast of Doctor Who as Dan Lewis, a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor. On 28 January, it was announced that Bishop would appear as a contestant on the 4th series of The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off in the spring of that year. In December 2022, Bishop starred as Vic in the pantomime Mother Goose opposite Ian McKellen in the title role at the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End before touring the UK and Ireland until April 2023. In 2025, Bishop narrated Tesco‘s Christmas advertising campaign. The 2025 film Is This Thing On? was inspired by the night Bishop decided to become a stand-up comedian. Bishop told the story to comedian Will Arnett who went on to write the screenplay for the film, which Bishop received a story credit for. ==Awards==

At the 2010 British Comedy Awards, Bishop won the Best Male Comedy Breakthrough Artist award. 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. On 25 July 2019, Bishop received an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Manchester Metropolitan University for his charity work, and the contributions he has made to comedy and the arts. ==Philanthropy==

In 1992, Bishop cycled from Sydney to Liverpool, raising £30,000 for the NSPCC. On 30 March 2010, Bishop took part in ''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London. In 2012, Bishop completed a triathlon from Paris to London in five days to raise money for the BBC charity Sport Relief. His "week of hell" began at the Eiffel Tower on 27 February, where he cycled to Calais. The next day, he rowed across the English Channel as part of a team including Davina McCall, Andrew Flintoff, and Denise Lewis, then ran from Dover to London in three days, finishing in Trafalgar Square on 2 March. On 23 March, during the Sport Relief telethon, it was announced that his efforts had raised £4.2 million. Also in 2012, he took part in The Justice Collective for their cover of The Hollies single "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" for charities in aid of Hillsborough disaster victims. On 27 May 2012, he took part in the Soccer Aid match for Unicef, playing for the England team, who won 3–1 against the Rest of the World. In 2014, Bishop 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. Bishop competed in the Ciaran Geddes memorial match at the Deva Stadium, scoring two goals while playing with his brother Eddie for Chester. ==Personal life==

Bishop and wife Melanie have been married since 1993, although they were separated for 18 months starting in 2000. They have three sons. Until 2019, they lived at Whatcroft Hall in Northwich, Cheshire. The property is a Grade II listed Georgian mansion. Bishop enjoys playing football and is a 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, and later took part in a celebrity-studded protest video on YouTube. Bishop pre-recorded a video message for the 2011 Labour Party conference, which was held in Liverpool. Bishop has been a vegetarian since 1985, 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''. In 2013, PETA declared him to be one of the "Sexiest Vegetarians" of the year. In September 2016, Bishop was ranked tenth on Forbes Top 10 Highest Paid Comedians List, earning £5.4 million a year, making him the UK's highest earning comedian. 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". In 2025, Is This Thing On?, a film loosely based on his experience, was released. ==Stand-up shows==

Film Television Music videos • 2011: Take That – "Happy Now" for Comic Relief • 2012: The Justice Collective – "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" Stage • 2009: One Night in Istanbul – Tom • 2022–2023: Mother Goose – Vic ==References==