John Joseph Bishop

John Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former semiprofessional footballer. Born at Mill Road Hospital in Everton, Liverpool, the son of housewife Kathleen and labourer Edward Bishop, he grew up mostly in the Cheshire towns of Runcorn and Winsford. He gained a BA in Social Science from Manchester Polytechnic and became a medical representative for the pharmaceutical company Syntex, where he worked until leaving in 2006 to pursue comedy full-time at the age of 40. He formerly played football as a midfielder for clubs including Winsford United, Crewe Alexandra and Runcorn.

Bishop began comedy in 2000 after splitting with his wife Melanie, attending the Frog and Bucket comedy club in Manchester and putting his name down for an Open Mic Night to avoid paying the entry fee. He credits comedy for saving his marriage, as he and Melanie reconciled. The following year he reached the final of major new act competitions including So You Think You're Funny and the BBC New Comedy Awards, and won the City Life North West Comedian of the Year Award. In 2009 he appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe with his show Elvis Has Left the Building, nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award.

His first television appearance was in 2007 on the RTE topical-comedy show The Panel, where he was a regular panelist until 2008. He has hosted his own shows including John Bishop's Britain (2010-2011), John Bishop's Only Joking (2013) and two versions of The John Bishop Show (2015, 2022). He appeared in series three and four of the E4 teen drama Skins and Ken Loach's film Route Irish (2010), and played the companion Dan Lewis of the Thirteenth Doctor in Doctor Who from 2021 to 2022. He is also known for his charity work, most notably raising 4.2 million pounds for Sport Relief 2012.