60 second interview… Jason Manford

Students at a charity comedy event were shocked when a ‘surprise headliner’ turned out to be none other than Jason Manford. After a 20 minute set, The Mancunion managed to catch up with the funny man himself in an exclusive interview.

Jason, when did you decide that stand-up comedy was the career path for you?

I was thinking about this today actually, funnily enough. I’ve basically been doing this my whole life: I started when I was sixteen and didn’t get paid for a while [laughs], but I always knew that I wanted to be an entertainer. Stand-up became the one thing I was really good at, you know; it’s sort of like singing or dancing, you just discover it.

So you have no formal training in the field?

No, I went to university and did media courses, but you can’t really teach stand-up. It’s a natural sort of talent really; you can’t tell someone how to make others laugh.

That’s true! So what kind of crowd do you like to perform for the most?

[Pauses to think] Well, obviously big shows are good because the people who are there already like you! You don’t even have to convince them that you’re funny. Playing at places like the o2 [arena] and at the Royal Variety Show are very exciting; people have travelled from all over the country to see you, it’s a big honour. But when I have the time, it is always good to perform in front of smaller crowds and do charity appearances like this.

Do you do a lot of work for charities?

I try to do as best as I can with charities. If I agreed to do every charity gig I was asked to do, I could probably do one every night, so it becomes tricky deciding which charities to perform for. I often agree to perform for children’s charities, such as this one [Jason performed at a fundraising event in aid of After Adoption] because it’s a cause close to my heart, having children myself.

Finally, any exciting plans for this year ahead?

Quite a few: I go back on tour in May, through until January, which I’m really looking forward to. I also have a couple of pilot sitcoms out – the gates are really opening for me in TV, and I’m hoping that one of those will take off.

Jason supported the children’s charity After Adoption, raising money to provide support for families involved in the adoption process. If you would like to find out more information about the charity or donate, visit www.afteradoption.org.uk.