Jason Manford's career comeback after sexting scandal

Jason Manford is best known by many for his work as a comedian but he has also had a fruitful career on the theatre stage too.

The 40-year-old dad-of-six is now set to take to a new ITV talent show Starstruck as a judge - where he will be working alongside actress Sheridan Smith, Queen frontman Adam Lambert and singer and musical star Beverley Knight.

The Salford-born star has had an interesting career from being an actor, singer, presenter and comedian - and he has managed to move on from the sexting scandal that led to him quitting as presenter of BBC's The One Show alongside Alex Jones back in 2010.

Read more: ITV Starstruck: Start date, judges and host of new Stars in Their Eyes-style TV talent show

In the summer of 2021, the star made headlines for his incredible weight loss after revealing he'd lost three stone and had set up a Facebook group to help his fans who also wanted to do the same.

We've taken a look back through Jason's early career and life off-screen and stage ahead of his latest role as a TV judge:

Jason Manford's early life and career

Born into a working-class family in Salford, Manchester in 1981, Jason has been a star of both stage and screen and has certainly made a name for himself in the industry.

As a child, he grew up with four siblings in a council house and has previously spoken to The Mirror about how he could remember the bailiffs coming round to his home "all the time" when he was young.

“I remember coming home from school and the sofa had gone, another time the telly had gone," Jason recalled: "My dad said, ‘If you ever answer the door to a bailiff, don’t invite them in. They’re like vampires.

“It felt like my parents worked constantly. And yet they still had a loan shark who came every week.”

Jason first got into comedy when working at the Buzz Comedy Club in Manchester aged 17. When one performer didn't turn up for their slot on the stage, Jason stepped in and the rest is history.

Quitting The One Show over sexting scandal

He started his comedy career in the early noughties before moving into acting and starring in shows like Shameless in 2007.

In 2007, Jason became a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats until 2010 and it was then that he was announced as new co-host of The One Show along Welsh presenter Alex Jones.

But just three months later he quit after he admited to spending hours in hotel rooms, exchanging sex texts and video messages with at least a dozen women while still married to his first wife, reported the Mirror.

At the time, in a statement the star said: “I have decided after careful consideration to step down from The One Show to concentrate on my family and tour commitments.”

He was later replaced by Countryfile presenter Matt Baker and took some time off work before returning to work in the West End in Sweeney Todd.

Career comeback

Since then Jason has starred in Ordinary Lies in 2015 and later Benidorm, Scarborough and Death in Paradise. He's also well-known for his roles in musical theatre productions such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Guys and Dolls and more recently Curtains.

In February 2020, Jason shocked viewers as he took part in The Masked Singer and was unveiled as the famous face behind the hedgehog costume.

Now Jason is set to take on a new challenge as a judge on a new ITV talent show called Starstruck which will be airing on the channel for six weeks from Saturday, February 12.

How many children does Jason Manford have?

Jason has four children - three girls and a boy - with his first wife Catherine who he split with in 2013.

He also shares two children - a girl and a boy - with his second wife Lucy Dyke.

Jason and Lucy, who is a TV producer, have been married since 2017 after getting hitched in Manchester and told The Mirror in 2017 that he just has to do "what's best" for his kids.

“When you are divorced and have a new family and children with two mums, you feel like, should I be on Jeremy Kyle?" he said: “But when I talk about it at gigs, I realise it’s slowly becoming the norm and people can get so hung up on feeling guilty about what has happened. I’ve just got to do what’s best for the children and not punish myself. I’m doing a good job and that’s all I can do.”

Jason has always kept his children out of the spotlight and only occasionally shares photos but all six are always given privacy with their faces covered.

He has previously spoken out about how they occasionally "embarrass" him with their "middle class ways" saying to The Mirror: “There is only so much I can hold on to my working class roots. My children are very much middle class.

“They’ve had a lovely upbringing with holidays and nice things which I feel very proud of, because that’s the aim, to give them the start in life you didn’t get.

“But, occasionally, they will embarrass me with their middle class ways. We were at dinner at my brother’s house and my daughter said, ‘this smashed avocado isn’t very nice’. It was mushy peas.”

The Mirror reported in 2021 how Jason had spoken out of his first marriage saying he didn't put enough "care and time" into the relationship.

He said: “My first marriage really disintegrated on my theory of, ‘I don’t want my children to have the childhood I had’. So I was out working all the time and I didn’t put the care and time into that relationship that it deserved and needed."

When is Starstruck starring Jason Manford on ITV?

You'll be able to catch Jason Manford in his new role as a talent judge on the new Stars in Their Eyes-style entertainment show Starstruck on February 12 from 8.30pm.

The show will run for six-weeks and will see members of the public take on the personas of their musical hero from Elton John to Freddie Mercury, Ariana Grande and Gary Barlow.

Speaking of his latest challenge Jason said: "I like to think that I’m a bit of a laugh. I hope to not be taking it too seriously and enjoy the fun of it all.

"But at the same time, I love music and I’m a singer and actor as well so I’ll be looking at how good people are at getting into their roles and the character they’re going to become."

You can find out more about the new show format, judges and host Olly Murs here.

Starstruck starts on ITV from Saturday, February 12 at 8.30pm.

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