Ahead of a show in Somerset, Jason Manford on why he became a stand-up comic

With a cheeky grin always present on his round smiling face, Jason is everybody’s idea of what their local barman should look and sound like.

He was just 17 and working at the Buzz Comedy Club in his native Manchester when he got his big break.

Jason was collecting glasses when a comic on that night’s bill didn’t arrive so the teenager offered to take his place. Just six gigs later, he was crowned The City Life North West Comedian of the Year.

No one knows what happened to the unknown comic who failed to show that night in the bar. However, Jason, 35, has gone on to become one of the biggest and most popular comics on TV and now the West End.

He may have waited until he was 17 before picking up a microphone, but Jason says his first inklings of becoming a stand-up comic started even earlier.

“I was about 10 when I first saw Billy Connolly play live,” he explains.

“I was blown away. It was the first time I realised laughter could sound like thunder. 

“I used to memorise his routines and tell them in school. I had a Scottish accent for about three weeks after seeing him.”

However, after leaving his school audience roaring in the playground, Jason was clueless about what he could do for a living.

“I worked on a building site for a while, then in Burger King. I kept getting sacked. I had no respect for authority,” he adds.

“Then I went home one night and my mother told me the facts of life. 

“She said; ‘You’re a man. You eat like a man. And we can’t afford a man to be in the house without a contribution.”

Jason trundled off to college to do Theatre Studies and realised he really loved performing.

“If I’d worked in an office I’d have been the fat bloke telling stories all the time.”

Jason always had a love for family friendly entertainers like Eric Morecambe, Tommy Cooper and Les Dawson. Later on, comics like Jasper Carrott and Dave Allen influenced him, but it wasn’t until he saw Peter Kay he decided to have a go himself.

From those humble beginnings, Jason has gone on to captain TV shows such as 8 out of 10 cats, performed at the Royal Variety Performance, Channel 4’s Comedy Gala, and the BBC’s Would I Lie to You.

So it was a surprise to his fans – as well as himself – that he was offered the role of Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Jason says that while he didn’t want to over-think the characterisation, he gave careful consideration to what he could bring to the role. 

“What’s nice for me is that no one is counting on me to be funny. If I’m funny it’s a bonus, and Caractacus does have some funny moments, but you’ve got the spies and the Baron for laughs. I just have to play the heart and soul of the piece to keep it interesting and I love that.

“I re-watched the film and what I saw was someone who was not dissimilar to me, a dad who would do anything for his kids. He keeps trying and failing and he’s reached a point in life where he thinks that something just has to go right for him. He really is that heartbroken, lonely, lovely man that Truly Scrumptious sings about,” says Jason.

“The setting is 1919 and my idea was that he was in the Navy but had to leave when his wife died to look after his kids. I like his journey. He’s optimistic, although he has his darker moments, and he’s a man who doesn’t like confrontation. 

“But then suddenly the kids are taken by the Childcatcher, grandpa is kidnapped and the car is stolen – everything that he knows and loves about his life is gone. He has to man up.”

Now back on the road with his stand-up show, Jason admits he has returned to his first love.

“I enjoy being on tour and being in different places. I can do six to eight months in my house and then I get stir crazy. 

“There’s something raw and magical about stand-up. You are in charge. There is no director and no Ofcom OfCom and you fall on your sword. There is something pure about it. With stand up it is about hiding the craft and all the skills you have learnt over the years so it looks like you are just a guy having a chat, whereas with musicals all the craft is on show.”

Jason Manford will be performing at The Playhouse, Weston-super-Mare, Wednesday, July 27, at 8pm.