Jason Manford

Jason Manford interview

After speaking to Jason Manford for less than thirty seconds, the phone goes dead.
I get a call straight back. "Bloody iPhones," he chunters, "they've forgotten the very fundamental aspect of telecommunication. "There's an app for everything, apart from ringing people.

Although it might not sound it, a roast is the ultimate honour for any entertainer. First started at the New York Friars' Club in the 1920s and made famous by Dean Martin on his TV show in the 1960s and 1970s, a roast involves you sitting in a room with your friends, family and colleagues as they mercilessly take the mickey out of you - goodnatured bullying, as the host Jimmy Carr calls it. There are three roasts this week - don't miss Sharon Osbourne's on Thursday and Chris Tarrant on Friday - but first up is Mr Showbusiness himself, Bruce Forsyth. Lining up to pay mocking tribute are Jack Dee, Jason Manford, Bruno Tonioli, Arlene Phillips, Jon Culshaw, Barry Cryer and, best of all, Jonathan Ross. It may be sycophantic, but there are still some hilarious moments.

For this two-hour bonanza in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, Channel 4 recently assembled 24 of Britain's best comedians to perform in front of a live audience at the O2 arena in London. So - deep breath - Jack Dee, Andy Parsons, David Mitchell, Fonejacker, Jack Whitehall, Jo Brand, James Corden, Jason Manford, John Bishop, Kevin Bridges, Kevin Eldon, Lee Evans, Mark Watson, Michael McIntyre, Noel Fielding, Patrick Kielty, Rich Hall, Rob Brydon, Ruth Jones, Sean Lock, Catherine Tate and Shappi Khorsandi take turns on stage to make it the biggest live stand-up show in British history. If that's not enough for you, Alan Carr and Bill Bailey perform with Stomp and Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Johnny Depp provide additional sketches.

Great Ormond Street Hospital is the recipient of this fundraising gala - the biggest live stand-up concert in UK history. And they couldn't have asked for more from the roster of stars who each donated five minutes last week at London's O2 Arena. Some hefty editing will be needed to get this show down to the two-hour running time it's been allotted and if the rude bits from Jonathan Ross and Mark Watson end up on the cutting room floor, then they may survive in the DVD which goes on sale on April 26.

Among those who'll definitely make the cut are, in no particular order, Michael McIntyre, Jack Dee, Bill Bailey, Kevin Eldon, Jason Manford, Jo Brand, Sean Lock and Noel Fielding.

The evening opens with a raucous dance number from Stomp and closes with a legendary performance from Lee Evans, looking the grand old man of stand-up in every sense.

The Rivoli Ballroom in south London is used to seeing stars. It was the setting for Tina Turner's Private Dancer video as well as an Elton John video. It'll be seeing some more as the setting for Justin Lee Collins' new chat show.

The opulent intimate setting give this the same kind of vibe as TFI Friday once had the dividing line between guests and audience is comfortably blurred.

After Jason Manford's new variety show Comedy Rocks started on Friday on ITV1, it'll be interesting to see how the two comedians shape up.

Comedy Rocks with Jason Manford was a one-off end-of-the-pier ­special that simply wasn't cut out for telly. This is the 21st Century, where we ­expect short sharp punchy scenes and fast editing. As opposed to a guy from Liverpool doing 10 continuous minutes of stand-up.

OK for a night out. But on a night in... a ­definite no-no. Jason's amusing enough in a gentle sort of way. Jo Brand's a reliable old warhorse. And with throwaway lines like "My granddad was an Elvis ­impersonator - but there wasn't much call for that in 1938", squeaky Joe Pasquale had me laughing out loud.

Some Northern ­comic called John Bishop seemed to believe that blokes don't send text messages. Tell that to Ashley Cole.

All too old-fashioned. Despite contributions from up-to-date ­popsters Scouting For Girls and Pixie Lott, the entire production was like something from a bygone age.

Friday night not at the Palladium.

Jason Manford has said that after his forthcoming UK tour he's probably going to knock live stand-up on the head to spend more time with his young family and concentrate on TV work like this project.

So there'll be more than usual riding on the success of this new series, which sees the comedian stepping out of his familiar Team Captain role on shows like 8 Out Of 10 Cats and As Seen On TV, and into a more family-oriented weekend variety slot.

Recorded the night before transmission - to keep the gags topical - it'll feature a mix of comedy and live music. And all the music will be live. "None of this miming palaver!" Manford promises. That's easy for him to say...

Let's not get carried away by suggesting it could be the new Friday Night Live (the line-up is more mainstream - and besides, it's pre-recorded) but this one-off special, hosted by Jason Manford and blending music with topical comedy (it's taped the night before) does have the makings of something half-decent (he says, generously). Terrible title, mind.

This variety show is the equivalent of a late-period Oasis album - some of the people involved may once have been vaguely entertaining (Jason Manford, John Bishop and Jo Brand) but it's far too broad strokes (Joe Pasquale, Pixie Lott), it'll have a title that means nothing, and you know that you probably wouldn't get on with anyone who really likes it.

Having interviewed him a couple of times, we know Manford has good taste in comedy. Unfortunately, he's never going to be able to display that taste and will probably have to settle for being a wittier Peter Kay-lite. Imagine having to introduce Scouting For Girls as a career: it's no job for a man.

Interview: Jason's getting hang of comedy business

He's one of the hottest names in comedy, so it seems surprising that 28-year-old Jason Manford is already thinking of retirement.