at
BBC Radio 4 in 2017
As writer and comedian Finnemore wrote the
BBC Radio 4 sitcom
Cabin Pressure and played the part of the "consistently cheery steward" Arthur. The sitcom aired for four series between 2008 and Christmas 2014, with a two-part finale at Christmas and New Year 2014–2015. He also wrote a radio sketch show, ''
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme'', which he performed with
Simon Kane,
Carrie Quinlan,
Lawry Lewin and
Margaret Cabourn-Smith. The first series was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011, and a special edition recorded at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe was broadcast in 2012. Seven further series followed annually until 2019, and a ninth series was broadcast in 2021. A stage version of
Souvenir Programme, renamed ''John Finnemore's Flying Visit'', completed two UK tours. The first between May and June 2018, and the second from September to November 2019 with a bonus date in December. Finnemore went on to write ''
John Finnemore's Double Acts'', an
anthology series of loosely connected
two-handers. The first series of six episodes aired on BBC Radio 4 from October 2015, and was released on CD in 2016. A second series of six episodes was broadcast in 2017. Finnemore has written extensively for other comedy shows, both on radio and TV, including
That Mitchell and Webb Sound (2003–2009),
That Mitchell and Webb Look (2006–2010),
Dead Ringers (2003–2007),
Tittybangbang (2005–2007),
Safety Catch,
The Now Show and
The Unbelievable Truth (2011). From 2009 to 2012, he co-wrote the podcast ''
David Mitchell's Soap Box with Mitchell. He has also been credited as programme associate on 10 O'Clock Live and Was it Something I Said?'' In September 2011, Finnemore wrote a
pilot episode for
BBC One called
George and Bernard Shaw, a sitcom starring
Robert Lindsay and
Richard Griffiths as an elderly gay couple. The show was not picked up for a full series. Finnemore has appeared on various BBC Radio 4 shows, including
The Now Show, The Unbelievable Truth, ''
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue,
Just a Minute,
and The News Quiz'' and is a regular performer at the bi-monthly Tall Tales storytelling shows held in North London. Since 2016, he has written
Listener cryptic crosswords under the pseudonym 'Emu', published in
The Times. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, Finnemore uploaded videos to his YouTube channel entitled "Cabin Fever" as his
Cabin Pressure character Arthur Shappey. These would often involve games or puzzles for the viewer. In this period, he became the fourth person to win a prize for solving ''
Cain's Jawbone'', a literary puzzle created by
Edward Powys Mathers in 1934. In 2023, Finnemore revealed he was writing a sequel to the puzzle, to be published by
Unbound in 2024. The book titled "The Researcher's First Murder: A New Cain's Jawbone Puzzle" was first published on 22. August 2024 by Unbound. Finnemore was also a co-writer, with
Neil Gaiman, of the second series of
Good Omens, which starred
Michael Sheen and
David Tennant.
As actor/self Finnemore appeared as recurring minor character Chris in
Miranda Hart's television sitcom
Miranda, in the episodes "Teacher" (2009), "Before I Die" (2010), "The Dinner Party" (2013) and "I Do, But to Who?" (2014). In 2014 Finnemore was the
narrator for
24 Hours to Go Broke on
Dave in the episodes "Iceland", "Greece", "Germany", "Ireland" and "Armenia". and two years later was runner-up on
Celebrity Mastermind, his specialist subject the ghost stories of MR James. John Finnemore featured as Paul, a
Space Shuttle pilot in
Armando Iannucci's American space comedy
Avenue 5, for which he has also written teleplays for several episodes. == Filmography ==