Joe Wilkinson

Joseph Roland Wilkinson (born 2 May 1975) is an English comedian, actor and screenwriter. Born in Bromley to Stella and Brian Wilkinson and named after his grandfather Rolan Joseph, he was brought up with his brother Robert in the village of Kemsing and attended Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys. While working in graphic design, he started his comedy career in 2004 at his local pub's open mic evening. In 2006 he won the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year and has supported Alan Carr and Russell Howard on tour, touring solo since 2011.

Wilkinson began appearing on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown in 2012, initially as Rachel Riley's assistant, and has since become a frequent panellist or guest team captain, often appearing in costumes and performing stunts. He is part of the comedy duo Two Episodes of Mash alongside Diane Morgan, with whom he also starred in The Cockfields (2019), which he co-wrote with David Earl. He played the socially awkward neighbour Dan Perkins in Him & Her, appeared as Jeffrey in the Netflix series Sex Education and as "Postman Pat" in Ricky Gervais' After Life, and co-wrote the Sky 1 series Rovers (2016) with David Earl.

In 2019 Wilkinson won a celebrity special version of The Great British Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer UK. He has appeared as a contestant on Taskmaster, on panel shows including Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week, and in 2024 co-presented Joe & Katherine's Bargain Holidays with Katherine Ryan on Channel 4. He starred in the first series of LOL: Last One Laughing UK in March 2025 and took part in the first series of The Celebrity Traitors, where he played a Faithful before being "murdered" in the sixth episode. He and Keira Knightley starred in the Waitrose Christmas adverts for 2025.