Comedy and television While at university, Thomson met
Steve Coogan, who secured him a job on
Spitting Image. He also appeared in
The Fast Show Live and the spin-off
Ted and Ralph. In 1996, he appeared opposite
Maureen Lipman as Bob Acres in
The Rivals at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester. He made guest appearances on various series such as
Coronation Street,
Soldier Soldier and
Men Behaving Badly in the 1990s before being cast as Pete Gifford in the ITV
comedy drama Cold Feet. Thomson was known to the producers, who had previously cast him in a one-off drama called
The Perfect Match.
A series was commissioned that ran until 2003 and earned him a nomination for Best TV Comedy Actor at the
British Comedy Awards 2001. Granada Television filmed a comedy drama called
Stan the Man in 2002 in which Thomson starred as Stanley Tully a would-be entrepreneur. Some of the filming was done in south Manchester suburbs. After
Cold Feet wrapped, Thomson appeared in the Royal Exchange's production of ''
Hobson's Choice (helped by his acclaimed performance in The Rivals'' His performance led to a
Manchester Evening News Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. That same year he participated in the BBC series
Comic Relief does Fame Academy, being the fourth "student" to be "expelled". and in 2004, he appeared in the musical drama
Blackpool as Tony Corlette. He has also lent his voice to the revived BBC children's series
Bill and Ben and Mr Windfall in
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Another television series,
New Street Law, about a Manchester chambers, started in 2006. Thomson plays "
lovable rogue" barrister Charlie Darling alongside co-star
John Hannah. The second series began in January 2007. In February 2007, he played Sir Alan Prentice, in
Kombat Opera Presents... The Applicants, a spoof opera of the BBC series
The Apprentice. The programme attracted 700,000 viewers according to unofficial overnights. In March 2007 he appeared as hypnotherapist Ray Bould in the three-part ITV thriller,
Mobile. The producers had Thomson lined up for the role of DI Fleming, but he wanted to read for Bould because he "was up against a friend for the same part". Later that year he filmed a guest appearance as Nigel Pearson in a second series episode of
Kingdom. He returned as a full-time cast member for the third series. In October 2008, Thomson filmed a three-episode guest stint on the
ITV soap opera Coronation Street, playing electrician-cum-children's entertainer
Jesse, which aired in December. In January 2009, it was announced that he would reprise the role for six months. Jesse returned to
Coronation Street in June, beginning a relationship with
Eileen Grimshaw (
Sue Cleaver). He left 2010, after his contract was not renewed. Later that same year, he portrayed
H.V. Kershaw in
The Road to Coronation Street, a dramatisation of
Coronation Streets development in the 1960s. In 2011, Thomson joined the cast of the BBC television series
Waterloo Road. Later in 2011, it was announced that Thomson would be appearing next to the original cast (with the exception of Mark Williams) in six online-only episodes of The Fast Show sponsored by lager brand,
Foster's due to launch on 10 November 2011. Also in 2011, John was a contestant on the ITV celebrity reality series
71 Degrees North. In 2015, he joined the cast of
After Hours as loveable Geoff, reuniting with his old friends
Craig Cash and
Caroline Aherne, who played his wife Sheila. During filming Thomson was attacked by a swan on set, footage being shown on ITV's
This Morning. Thomson was a contestant in the
2013 series of
Celebrity MasterChef. Since 2015, Thomson has starred in
The Keith Lemon Sketch Show, playing various characters. He narrates the
Channel 4 series
Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners and in September 2015, he became the new narrator of
Police Interceptors. He stars in the
Sky1 comedy drama
After Hours, directed by Craig Cash. From 2016, Thomson began narrating
Channel 5 show
Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun - a show about British
expats who have moved to
Spain to begin a new life in the sun. On 18 November 2017, Thomson was a contestant in the reboot of
The Weakest Link for
Children in Need. In 2018, Thomson was a contestant in ''
Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit''. In 2019, he starred in the comedy clip show,
Zone of Champions. In 2020, Thomson voiced the character of Dog in the
CBeebies show,
Dog Loves Books. In 2021, Thomson participated on the
second series of
The Masked Singer, masked as Bush Baby. He finished in 8th place. In December 2022, Thomson landed the role of villain Abanazar in a pantomime production of "Aladdin" at
Derby Arena. In 2024, Thomson appeared as DI Warren Bull in a 2-part episode of
Silent Witness called "Grievance Culture".
Radio In January 2008, he played Mike (Topaz) in the
BBC Radio 4 comedy drama series
Pick Ups. On 12 April 2008, Thomson began hosting the Saturday lunchtime slot on
BBC Radio Manchester. His stint ended on 22 November 2008. Since 2016, Thomson has been a team captain on the
BBC Radio 4 panel show ''Gaby's Talking Pictures'', presented by
Gaby Roslin. From 26 to 29 December 2023, Thomson presented a four part series for
Absolute Radio titled
12 Drummers Drumming, which looked into twelve drummers from the worlds of rock, pop, jazz and rhythm and blues. ==Personal life==