1987–95: Channel X Whilst on
Solid Soul, he met fellow researcher Alan Marke, and the two devised what would prove to be a breakthrough hit for Ross in 1987,
The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross. The two men based their concept on the successful American show
Late Night with David Letterman, and formed a new production company called Channel X, to produce a pilot. Ross had not planned to be the show's host, but he presented the show from its debut in January 1987. While the series was initially a co-production with
Colin Callender, ownership transferred to Marke and Ross, meaning that the latter retained a great deal of control as well as being presenter. The show was successful for both Ross and for Channel 4, making him one of the major personalities on the channel. A year later, his documentary series
The Incredibly Strange Film Show introduced many to the works of
cult filmmakers like
Sam Raimi and
Jackie Chan. Ross and Raimi appeared together in a British television advertisement for Raimi's 1987 film
Evil Dead II. In 1990 and 1991, his television documentary series
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only profiled and interviewed directors including
Alejandro Jodorowsky,
David Lynch,
Aki Kaurismäki and in 2014, the Spanish filmmaker
Pedro Almodóvar. In 1989, he co-presented the biennial BBC charity telethon
Comic Relief, the same year he launched
One Hour with Jonathan Ross a short lived chat show on Channel 4. Its game show segment, "
Knock down ginger", introduced comedians such as
Vic Reeves,
Bob Mortimer,
Paul Whitehouse and
Charlie Higson to television. In December 1989, Ross appeared on ''
Cilla's Goodbye to the 80s'' and presented all four members of
Queen with the "Top Band of the Eighties" prize in a broadcast for
ITV which would turn out to be
Freddie Mercury's penultimate public appearance before his death from AIDS in 1991. Ross presented the annual
British Comedy Awards each year from 1991 to 2014 with the exception of 2008 following his suspension from the BBC. In 1992 he presented an interview with
Madonna about her
Erotica album and
Sex Book promotion. Ross has appeared in numerous television entertainment programmes on several channels throughout the 1990s and 2000s. He was a regular panellist on the sports quiz ''
They Think It's All Over, and hosted the panel game It's Only TV...But I Like It
. Other projects include the BBC joke-quiz Gagtag
, the Channel 4 variety show Saturday Zoo, new-acts showcase The Big Big Talent Show, and the ITV programme Fantastic Facts''. In 1995, he left Channel X, despite its profitable nature. He was quoted in a 1998 article as stating:
1995–2006 In 1995, he presented
Mondo Rosso, a programme about old
cult films. He took over presenting of
the Film programme, the BBC's long-running cinema review series, in 1999 after
Barry Norman left the show. Ross himself has made a number of cameo appearances in films, playing himself in the
Spice Girls' film
Spice World (1997) and voicing the character of Doris in the UK version of
Shrek 2 (2004). In 2001 he also played himself in
Only Fools and Horses, presenting
Goldrush, a fictional television quiz on which the main character,
Del, was a contestant. In 2001 he voiced characters in two episodes of the animated comedy series
Rex the Runt. He also appeared on the first pilot show for
Shooting Stars, acting as a team captain. He was the subject of
This Is Your Life in March 2001 when he was surprised by
Michael Aspel at the BBC Television Centre.
1987, 1999–2010, 2014–2018: BBC Radio Ross's first radio work was on
BBC Radio 1 in 1987, when he sat in for
Janice Long for two weeks. Ross began presenting a Saturday morning show on
BBC Radio 2 in July 1999. He has also presented radio shows for
Virgin Radio (having previously worked on
Richard Branson's earlier venture,
Radio Radio), as well as the now-defunct
commercial radio network service
The Superstation, where his producer was
Chris Evans. Ross's show on Radio 2 last aired on 17 July 2010 when his contract at the BBC ended. In August 2014, he returned to Radio 2 as a stand-in presenter on Steve Wright's afternoon show for four days. In March 2015 Jonathan sat in for Steve Wright again from 16 to 27 March 2015. In February 2016 Ross returned to Radio 2 on a regular basis to present the weekly arts show. From 11 January 2018,
Anneka Rice took over the arts show.
2001–10: Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and other projects at
Live 8 in July 2005 In 2001, Ross began presenting his
BBC One comedy chat show
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. In 2004, Ross presented a documentary on one of his favourite subjects,
punk rock, for the BBC. In November 2005, Ross appeared on
Gordon Ramsay's
The F Word where Ramsay shows Ross how to kill lobster. In 2005, Ross anchored the BBC television coverage of the
Live 8 concerts. Later that year he was made an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire in the
Queen's Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting. He celebrated the news by playing "
God Save the Queen" by
The Sex Pistols (which was banned by the BBC when released in 1977) on his
BBC Radio 2 Saturday morning show. On 21 June 2006, Ross was made a Fellow of
University College London, where he studied. In early 2006, Ross announced that after eight years he was quitting his regular panellist seat on the sport/comedy quiz show ''
They Think It's All Over'' explaining: "I need time now to focus on my other commitments and so regrettably I won't be back for the 20th series." Following Ross's departure, only two more episodes of the show were made before it was cancelled. In January 2006 he presented ''Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion
, broadcast on BBC Four. The three-part documentary followed Ross as he explored the film industry in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea, interviewing directors and showcasing clips. His interest in East Asian culture and his self-confessed love for Japanese anime and video games led him to making three series of BBC Three show Japanorama, as well as producing another television series for the same channel called Adam and Joe Go Tokyo'', starring
Adam Buxton and
Joe Cornish. He produced the latter programme through his own television production company Hot Sauce. In April 2006, details of his fees and those of other BBC personalities were leaked to the tabloid press. It was claimed at the time, by a then-unidentified BBC
mole, that Ross earned £530,000 per year for hosting his Radio 2 show (equivalent to £10,000 per show). While refusing to comment specifically on the leak in line with BBC policy on the matter, Ross did hint during his radio show that the figure was exaggerated; in addition to this, any pay highlighted as being "his" would actually be split between himself and his producer/co-presenter on the show, Andy Davies. In June 2006, a bidding war was sparked between BBC and other broadcasters for Ross's services. Although other broadcasters were unsuccessful in poaching Ross, it is believed that their bids were higher than the BBC during negotiations. ITV, who bid for Ross, poached chat host
Michael Parkinson around the same time. Ross became the highest paid television personality in Britain, when a new BBC contract secured his services until 2010, for a reported £18 million (£6 million per year). That same month, he was named by
Radio Times as the
most powerful person in British radio. On 25 June 2006, he performed at the
Children's Party at the Palace for
the Queen's 80th birthday. In August 2006, Ross asked the first question in the
Yahoo! Answers "Five Million Answers challenge". On 16 March 2007, Ross hosted
Comic Relief 2007 alongside
Fearne Cotton and
Lenny Henry. In June 2006, when
Conservative Party leader
David Cameron appeared on
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Ross began a line of questioning relating to Conservative ex-Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher, culminating in the question "Did you or did you not have a
wank thinking of Margaret Thatcher?" Ross was defended by the
BBC publicly, but repeat showings of the interview have been banned. On 7 July 2007, Ross co-presented (with
Graham Norton) BBC television coverage of the
Live Earth climate change awareness concerts, which became the subject of controversy due to the foul language used by performers including
Phil Collins,
Madonna and
Johnny Borrell, resulting in one of
Ofcom's toughest sanctions to date on the BBC. Ross had been required to apologise on the day for the language used by Collins and Borrell. Ross is well-known as an enthusiastic comic book collector. Starting on 10 September 2007, he presented the BBC Four series
Comics Britannia, about the
history of the British comic. This forms the core of a Comics Britannia season, which includes another documentary,
In Search of Steve Ditko, by Ross. Ross is also greatly interested in Japan, presenting a BBC-TV series on many different aspects of Japanese culture,
Japanorama, for three series between 2002 and 2007. In May 2008, Ross won the Sony Gold Award "Music Radio Personality of the Year". On 3 August 2008, he hosted ''Jonathan Ross Salutes
Dad's Army'', a BBC One tribute to the sitcom set during
World War II. On 5 December 2007, Ross joked at the
British Comedy Awards that his salary meant that he was "apparently worth 1,000 BBC journalists". His quip came shortly after the BBC had announced plans for more than 2,000 job cuts, and was condemned as "obscene" by the general secretary of the
National Union of Journalists. Ross has denied this and in a 2011 article is quoted as saying that he was commenting on a piece that was written in a newspaper about his salary being that of 1,000 journalists: The
BBC Trust ruled that Ross's interview with American actress
Gwyneth Paltrow, broadcast on 2 May 2008, breached editorial guidelines. They ruled that bad language in an episode of Ross's pre-recorded BBC1 chat show,
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, in which the presenter told Paltrow he "would fuck her", was "gratuitous and unnecessarily offensive". The trust said it disagreed with the judgement made by BBC management that the episode should be broadcast uncensored, adding that the comment was made in an "overly sexual way" and that it had upheld a number of complaints made about the edition of
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. The trust reminded BBC staff that "the casual gratuitous use of the most offensive language is not acceptable on the BBC in accordance with the BBC's existing guidelines and practices", adding that "this particularly applies in entertainment programmes".
The Russell Brand Show and Andrew Sachs Following a guest appearance by Ross on
The Russell Brand Show broadcast on 18 October 2008, Ross was suspended for 12 weeks without pay by the BBC on 29 October, after a series of lewd answerphone messages, including Ross saying, "He fucked your granddaughter", were left for then 78-year-old actor
Andrew Sachs regarding Sachs' granddaughter
Georgina Baillie, by
Russell Brand and Ross, which were broadcast on the pre-recorded show. After little initial interest, a media story about the calls by the
Daily Mail generated a high number of complaints. Brand resigned from the BBC, while Ross was suspended without pay. BBC director general
Mark Thompson stated that Ross should take the disciplinary action as a "final warning". The BBC was later fined £150,000 by Britain's broadcast regulator for airing the calls. On 21 November 2008, the
BBC Trust said that the phone calls were a "deplorable intrusion with no editorial justification". The trust gave its backing to Ross's 12-week suspension but recommended that no further action be taken against him. He returned to work in January 2009 with a new series of
Friday Night. From 23 May 2009, Ross's BBC Radio 2 show was recorded 24 hours before broadcast.
Homophobia allegation On 13 May 2009, Ross was accused of
homophobia after a comment he made on his radio show, in which he said, An incorrect version of this quote was also circulated, in which Ross was accused of saying:
Ofcom received 61 complaints following the comment. On 7 July 2009, Ofcom ruled that Ross did not breach the broadcasting code. They wrote in their opinion that "the comment was clearly presented as a joke intended to make light of the reactions that some parents may have if their child chooses a toy that is very widely recognised to be designed and marketed for the opposite sex" and that the nature of the joke and tone and manner in which it was presented "made clear that it was not intended to be hostile or pejorative towards the
gay community in general."
Activities outwith the BBC In 2010, Ross 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 on 30 March. On 7 April 2010, Ross's first comic book was published.
Turf was written by Jonathan himself and drawn by artist
Tommy Lee Edwards. In 2011, Ross wrote an introduction for
The Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 1, a collection of work by the American comics artist featured in Ross's 2007 documentary.
2010: Leaving the BBC On 7 January 2010, Ross confirmed that he would leave the BBC in July 2010. This would see him leave all his regular BBC roles, namely his Friday night chat show, Radio 2 show and the film review programme, although he would be continuing with some specials, such as Comic Relief and the BAFTA Awards. Ross said that while he "had a wonderful time working for the BBC" he had "decided not to re-negotiate when my current contract comes to an end," a choice which was "not financially motivated". The announcement came a day after it became public knowledge that
Graham Norton had signed a two-year deal with the BBC. Torin Douglas, the corporation's media correspondent speculated Norton would be a ready-made replacement for Ross's chat show role, while
Mark Kermode of
BBC Radio 5 Live was a potential successor in the film review role, but that "replacing Ross on radio will be harder." In 2012, Ross's voice appeared as a headteacher in
Back to School at the
Edinburgh Festival. In October 2013, Ross was hired by Xbox (Microsoft) to help promote the brand. In 2011, he presented
Penn & Teller: Fool Us on ITV, a collaboration with magicians
Penn & Teller, which he would resume hosting when the show moved to
The CW in 2014. Ross's new chat show,
The Jonathan Ross Show, began on 3 September 2011 on
ITV1, drawing an audience of 4.3m viewers, compared to the 4.6m for his finale on the BBC show. The first series ran for thirteen weeks. Speaking about the new show, Ross said: "I am thrilled and excited that after a short break I will be rolling up my sleeves and creating a brand new show for ITV1." On 1 March 2014
Loncon 3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention, announced that Ross would be the
Master of Ceremonies for the 2014
Hugo Awards ceremony, to be held in August at
ExCeL London. This generated angry criticism from members of
science fiction fandom who objected to the idea, citing Ross's record of controversial statements and actions. Convention committee member
Farah Mendlesohn strongly objected to the choice of Ross as MC, and resigned when the Loncon 3
Co-Chairs would not reconsider the choice, writing (in part), '[Ross] is a man who has made a fortune (6 million a year at one point) from abusing others—particularly women—live on air.' He publicly withdrew as MC not long after the announcement, tweeting 'I have decided to withdraw from hosting the Hugo's @loncon3 in response to some who would rather I weren't there. Have a lovely convention.' designed statue—themed "Futuristic Robot Bear"—in the
City of Westminster, London, auctioned for the
NSPCC On 20 October 2014, it was announced by ITV that Ross had signed a new contract with ITV. The new contract will see him present two more series of his chatshow along with a Christmas Special on ITV in 2015. ITV's Director of Entertainment and Comedy Elaine Bedell added: "Jonathan is the king of talk shows and a valued member of the ITV family. He continues to attract the biggest names in showbiz onto his sofa and I am delighted that he will remain on the channel until at least the end of 2015." Ross said: "I've been lucky enough to interview some of the biggest stars around on The Jonathan Ross Show and I'm delighted that I'll continue to do so for ITV until at least the end of 2015 with two series booked for the channel for next year." In November 2014, Ross designed a
Paddington Bear statue, one of fifty created by various celebrities which were located around London prior to the release of the film
Paddington, with the statues auctioned to raise funds for the
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). In 2015, Ross's 2004 interview with
Amy Winehouse was featured in
Asif Kapadia's highly praised
documentary film about the late singer, entitled
Amy. In 2017, Ross was a team captain along with
Frank Skinner on the ITV panel show ''
Don't Ask Me Ask Britain. In December 2017, Ross presented Guess the Star
, a one-off special for ITV. On 9 September 2019, Ross was announced as a judge for The Masked Singer UK, the UK version of the international music game show Masked Singer'', which aired on ITV from January 2020. In September 2020, Ross started hosting his own 30-minute weekly ITV show called ''Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club
. On 4 March 2021, it was announced by ITV that Ross would be on the celebrity panel of a brand new spin-off show of The Masked Singer UK
, The Masked Dancer,
which aired in spring 2021. Ross made his debut appearance on Celebrity Gogglebox on 2 July 2021, and was joined by his son, Harvey, daughter Honey and her boyfriend. In March 2023, Ross replaced Andrew Collins as presenter of the weekly radio show Saturday Night at the Movies
on Classic FM. In May 2025, Ross was announced as a contestant on the upcoming first series of The Celebrity Traitors''. Ross was selected as a traitor alongside
Alan Carr and
Cat Burns but was eventually banished in episode 7. ==Personal life==