Jon Holmes

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Holmes was raised in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Holmes was adopted when he was aged one month.{{cite web|last1=Holmes|first1=Jon|title=Why I've no desire to find out who my biological father is|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/relationships/fatherhood/11680570/Why-Ive-no-desire-to-find-out-who-my-biological-father-is.html|website=The Telegraph|access-date=2 May 2019|date=20 June 2015}} He attended Canterbury Christ Church College,{{cite web|first=Roy|last=Martin|url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/2013/02/xfm-jock-jon-holmes-jumps-off-a-building/|title=Xfm jock Jon Holmes jumps off a building|date=27 February 2013|publisher=radiotoday.co.uk|access-date=2 May 2019}} where he graduated with a joint degree in English with radio, film and television. He became involved with university radio station C4 Radio and also wrote, directed and performed in various student revue shows; he became a presenter on Canterbury's local radio station KMFM Canterbury (then CTFM).{{cite web|url=http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/news/20-02-2013-presenter-jon-holmes-goes-back-college-raise-money-clic-sargent|title=Presenter Jon Holmes goes back to college to raise money for CLIC Sargent|date=20 February 2013|publisher=clicsargent.org.uk|access-date=9 April 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413150335/http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/news/20-02-2013-presenter-jon-holmes-goes-back-college-raise-money-clic-sargent|archive-date=13 April 2014|df=dmy-all}}

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After graduation, Holmes's first foray into BBC radio comedy was for BBC Radio 4 with his debut comedy series Grievous Bodily Radio in 1997. He also had a show on Power FM on Sunday nights. The Jon & Andy Show (with Andy Hurst), which Holmes presented during 1998–2000, won him a gold Sony Radio Academy Award for entertainment.

In 2001 Holmes co-created the Radio 4 show Dead Ringers, for which he jointly won his second gold Sony, and the show transferred to BBC Two television.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Following this, the late-night Jon Holmes show on Virgin Radio ran from 2001 to 2002, but Holmes was fired after several controversial stunts. Virgin was fined a record £75,000 for Holmes's feature "Swearing Radio Hangman for the Under-12s", in which he persuaded a nine-year-old girl to spell out and then repeat the phrase "soapy tit wank".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4377069,00.html|author=Day, Julia|title=Virgin hit by record fine|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=19 March 2002|access-date=2 May 2019|quote=Just before midnight on January 18 Holmes' late-night show broadcast the child taking part in a competition in which callers guess the letters of the phrase "soapy tit wank". The girl was prompted to say the phrase and then encouraged to repeat it three times in what the authority called a "highly offensive" and "totally unacceptable" programme.}}

Meanwhile, on BBC Radio 4, Holmes was writing and appearing on The Now Show and The 99p Challenge, where he first worked with Armando Iannucci. Since then he has worked with Iannucci on Gash (Channel 4, 2003) and Time Trumpet (BBC2, 2006), and in 2006 he received his sixth Sony Award for his work on Radio 4's Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

He also hosted a spin-off BBC Radio 7 radio series and official podcast of the American drama series Heroes, featuring on BBC Two in the UK.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Throughout 2007, Holmes presented the Friday afternoon drivetime show on London talk station LBC, leaving in January 2008 when the station's new owners made the station more news-based.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

In November 2007 he began a new Radio 4 series, Listen Against, which he co-presented with newsreader Alice Arnold.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/listenagainst.shtml|title=BBC Radio 4 – Listen Against|access-date=2 May 2019}}{{cite news|author=Reynolds, Gillian|date=20 November 2007|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3669398/On-radio-Why-radio-comedy-needs-to-be-more-than-a-load-of-old-sausages.html|title=On radio: Why radio comedy needs to be more than a load of old sausages|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=2 May 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/nov/15/radio1|title=Radio review|author=Mahoney, Elisabeth|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=15 November 2007|access-date=2 May 2019}} Series 2 began on Radio 4 in November 2008 and Series 3 was broadcast in the summer of 2010.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/afternoon-play-pythonesque-radio-4-wednesday-listen-again-radio-4-tuesday-2083111.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/afternoon-play-pythonesque-radio-4-wednesday-listen-again-radio-4-tuesday-2083111.html |archive-date=14 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Afternoon Play: Pythonesque, Radio 4, Wednesday, Listen again, Radio 4, Tuesday|author=Maume, Chris|work=Independent on Sunday|date=19 September 2010|access-date=2 May 2019}}

A BBC Radio 2 film panel show, I'm Spartacus, aired on the network in April 2009 while also on Radio 2. Holmes co-wrote and co-presented The Day the Music Died alongside Andrew Collins.{{fact|date=October 2024}} He has also fronted his own BBC Radio 1 show and from 2006 to 2012 had his own weekend show on BBC Radio 6 Music.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Holmes was a regular contributor to the Radio 4 programme Loose Ends.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

On 19 December 2012, it was announced that Holmes would be taking over from Danny Wallace as presenter of the XFM London breakfast show from 7 January 2013. A podcast to accompany the show was released on 11 January 2013, charting at number 13 in the UK iTunes Podcast chart.{{cite web|url=http://www.itunescharts.net/uk/artists/podcast/xfm/podcasts/the-xfm-breakfast-show-podcast-with-jon-holmes/|title=iTunesCharts.net: 'The Xfm Breakfast Show Podcast with Jon Holmes' by XFM (British Podcasts iTunes Chart)|work=itunescharts.net|access-date=2 May 2019}} The show ran on weekdays between 6am and 10am. Holmes made the headlines again after a controversial joke about the Irish at the Winter Olympics.{{cite news|author=O' Sullivan, Neal|date=19 February 2014|url=https://www.irishpost.com/news/british-dj-apolgises-making-racist-joke-irish-people-21745|title=British DJ apologises over racist joke about Irish people|work=The Irish Post|access-date=2 May 2019}} Holmes was nominated for 'Presenter of the Year' at the 2015 Commercial Radio Awards.

In March 2016 it was announced that Holmes would move to the new-to-launch speech station Talkradio to present the weekday afternoon slot. Holmes left the station, and his final show was on 12 January 2018.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Following a pilot in 2019, since January 2020 Holmes has produced his BBC Radio 4 soundscape dark satire The Skewer.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Between 2006{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0072kwk/broadcasts/2007/11|date=November 2007|title=Jon Holmes|publisher=BBC News|access-date=2 May 2019}} until 2012 Holmes presented a BBC Radio 6 Music show every Saturday at 10am, where he "plays some music and messes around in the gaps" alongside his friend and sidekick David Whitehead and producer Adam Hudson.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Holmes occasionally replaces holidaying presenters on Radio 2, with co-presenter Miranda Hart.{{cite news|author=Mahoney, Elisabeth|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/may/31/miranda-hart-jon-holmes-review|title=Radio review: Woman's Hour, Radio 2 breakfast|work=The Guardian|date=31 May 2011|access-date=2 May 2019}} In October 2011 he attracted criticism after co-hosting The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Hart while Chris Evans was on holiday. The website Digital Spy reported that some listeners were unhappy with the quality of the programme. The BBC issued a statement in response saying, "Miranda Hart is one of the UK's best-loved comedians and BBC Radio 2 felt it appropriate to bring her warmth to its audience for a week. Jon Holmes is a highly experienced presenter from BBC Radio 6 Music [...] BBC Radio 2 appreciates if their presentation wasn't to everyone's liking, but feels it's important to be able to bring new talent to its output and hopes its audience understands the importance of maintaining a breadth of content on the network."{{cite news|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/media/a344503/bbc-responds-to-miranda-hart-complaints/|title=BBC responds to Miranda Hart complaint|work=Digital Spy|author=Daniels, Colin|date=8 October 2011|access-date=2 May 2019}}

In 2018 Holmes was back on Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine: Agony Uncle, which he wrote and appeared in as 'Tim the producer'. With Lewis MacLeod as Jeremy Vine, it was a 'behind the scenes look at what happens during The Jeremy Vine Show when the records are on'. The premise featured 'Jeremy' taking phone calls to give advice from various celebrities played by impressionists Terry Mynott and Jess Robinson. The show returned for a 2018 Christmas special.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0655jhf|title=Jon Holmes: "Jeremy Vine however.. I'm willing to spill the beans!"|publisher=BBC News|date=23 April 2018|access-date=2 May 2019}}

Holmes hosted The XFM London Daily Breakfast Show, alongside Matt Dyson, Dave Masterman and a series of interns from 7 January 2013.{{cite news|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/music/radio/a446145/jon-holmes-to-present-xfm-breakfast-show/|author=Copsey, Robert|title=Jon Holmes to present Xfm Breakfast Show|work=Digital Spy|date=19 December 2012|access-date=2 May 2019}}

On 7 September 2015, after a summer of press rumours that he was being axed from XFM in favour of former Radio 1 Breakfast DJ Chris Moyles it was announced that Holmes would be moving from the daily breakfast show to its weekend counterpart, as part of the relaunch of the station as Radio X. It was also confirmed that Moyles would run the new station's breakfast show{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34173605|title=Chris Moyles to go back on air with Radio X|publisher=BBC News|date=7 September 2015|access-date=2 May 2019}} in direct competition with his Radio 1 successor Nick Grimshaw.{{cite news|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-09-07/chris-moyles-to-return-to-breakfast-radio-as-xfm-becomes-radio-x/|author=Gill, James|title=Chris Moyles to return to breakfast radio as XFM becomes Radio X|work=Radio Times|date=7 September 2015|access-date=2 May 2019}} In a tweet to his fans{{cite tweet|user=jonholmes1|author=Jon Holmes|number=640821202773221376|date=7 September 2015|title=Thanks for all kind twitters. Am indeed going be on the all new shiny #RadioX for weekend breakfast. Starts 26th September.}} Holmes said: "Thanks for all kind twitters. Am indeed going be on the all new shiny #RadioX for weekend breakfast. Starts 26th September."

Holmes left the station in 2016, in order to host a show on Talkradio.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

On Monday 7 March 2016, Holmes was revealed to be the afternoon presenter on the newly launched Talkradio.{{cite web|url=https://talksport.com/uncategorized/49244/eamonn-holmes-signs-show-talkradio-160307187548/|title=Eamonn Holmes signs up for show on talkRADIO|agency=Talksport|publisher=Wireless Group|date=7 March 2016|access-date=2 May 2019}} The show came to an end on Friday 12 January 2018 as a result of a major schedule change.

In January 2018, Holmes joined digital radio station Virgin Radio UK presenting the Sunday drivetime show. He has regularly covered the breakfast and drivetime shows on weekdays since the station re-launched in 2016. He left the station on Sunday 6 May 2018.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

In August 2017, Holmes rejoined BBC Radio and joined BBC Radio Kent replacing James Whale on Saturday mornings, featuring live music from a session studio.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

As well as writing for television, Holmes co-wrote and appeared in 2009 Unwrapped,{{cite book|author=Johnson, Sophie|title=Miranda Hart – Such Fun}} a review of the year for BBC Two but with entirely fabricated news stories with judicious use of re-edited news footage and video archive not dissimilar to Holmes's own Listen Against on Radio 44. The show aired at Christmas 2009.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

He appeared (in acting roles) in Crackanory on the Dave Channel as well as 'Nick Tesla' in the controversial Channel 4 drama Ukip: The First 100 Days which imagined what it would be like if Ukip won the 2016 UK general election.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

He co-wrote BBC1's The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson. The show was a big hit for Saturday nights and a second series was scheduled to air in autumn 2010. Holmes also co-writes Horrible Histories for BBC One, for which he won two BAFTAs in 2010 as part of the writing team.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/01/bbc-axe-award-winning-comedian-of-18-years-for-being-white-and-m/|author=Harley, Nicola|title=BBC axe award-winning comedian of 18 years for being 'white and male'|work=The Telegraph|date=2 October 2016|access-date=2 May 2019}}

Apart from the transfer of Radio 4's Dead Ringers, in 2002 Holmes co-presented the fifth series of The Eleven O'Clock Show on Channel 4 television with Sarah Alexander.{{cite news|author=Deans, Jason|title=Holmes to front C4's 11 O'Clock Show after Lee walkout|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2000/oct/02/channel4.broadcasting1|work=The Guardian|date=2 October 2000|access-date=2 May 2019}} He wrote for Graham Norton on his award-winning Channel 4 show V Graham Norton and co-presented BBC3's The State We're In, in which he was beaten up by the SAS. Holmes wrote and appeared in Gash, a nightly politics programme which was broadcast to coincide with the 2003 local elections and presented by Armando Iannucci. He also co-wrote Iannucci's Time Trumpet for BBC2.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

In 2005, with Dead Ringers{{'}}s Jon Culshaw, Holmes co-wrote and script edited ITV1's The Impressionable Jon Culshaw. He also played various roles in various sketches. The show was nominated for the Golden Rose of Montreux TV Award.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-jon-holmes-jon-culshaw-1771504.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-jon-holmes-jon-culshaw-1771504.html |archive-date=14 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|author=Harries, Rhiannon|title=How We Met: Jon Holmes & Jon Culshaw|work=The Independent|date=16 August 2016|access-date=2 May 2019}}

Selected other credits include Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week and The Harry Hill Show.{{cite web|url=http://www.vivienneclore.com/artist-details/jon-holmes/|title=Vivienne Clore – Jon Holmes|work=Vivienneclore.com|access-date=2 May 2019|archive-date=22 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122063550/http://www.vivienneclore.com/artist-details/jon-holmes|url-status=dead}} He is also the voice of BBC Three's 7 Days and Crash Test Danny for the Discovery Channel.

He regularly appears on Sky News to preview the following morning's newspapers.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Holmes's first book, Status Quo and the Kangaroo, was published in hardback by Penguin May 2007 and has since been published in Australia, Canada, the US and India and has been translated into Russian. The paperback Rock Star Babylon was published in the UK in September 2008. 2009 saw the publication of another book, The Now Show Book of World Records, which Holmes co-wrote with Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. He also co-wrote (with Mitch Benn) The History of the World Through Twitter. Both books were published in October 2009.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

His comedy memoir, A Portrait of An Idiot As A Young Man was published September 2016.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

He has been a Sunday Times columnist and has written for The Guardian, The Times and the Radio Times, among others. He is now a travel writer for the Sunday Times.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Holmes also co-wrote Stephen Fry's script for the BAFTA Film Awards and has hosted the MOJO Awards and the Radio Production Awards.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

He toured the UK in 2008/2009 reading from his book Rock Star Babylon (for which Stephen Fry voiced the footnotes) and in August 2009 played the Edinburgh Comedy Festival.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

On 15 September 2010, Holmes, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/15/harsh-judgments-on-pope-religion|title=Letters: Harsh judgments on the pope and religion|work=The Guardian|access-date=2 May 2019|location=London|date=15 September 2010}}

In 2016 he hosted Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards.{{cite press release|url=https://www.radiocentre.org/jon-holmes-to-host-the-arqiva-commercial-radio-awards/|title=Jon Holmes to host the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards|date=7 March 2016|access-date=2 May 2019}}

In 2021, a number of Rock Star Babylon stories (including Status Quo and the Kangaroo), have been adapted into a radio comedy show called Rockanory. The series is due to be broadcast by Absolute Radio and will feature the voices of Shaun Keaveny, Jon Culshaw and Jake Yapp. Holmes has produced the series and has co-written it with Gareth Ceredig.{{Cite web|url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2021/08/shaun-keaveny-joins-absolute-radio-for-comedy-series/|title = Shaun Keaveny joins Absolute Radio for comedy series|date = 23 August 2021}}

Holmes has won two BAFTAs, nine Gold Sony Radio Awards, two British Comedy Awards, a Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Radio Show and was a nominee, for The Now Show, for a Channel 4 Political Award.{{fact|date=October 2024}} He was also nominated for a Rose D'or for his work on The Impressionable Jon Culshaw, for ITV1.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

He has been nominated for two more BAFTAS, a Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award and was made a Distinguished Supporter of Humanists UK.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.jonholmes.net}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130724065146/http://www.vivienneclore.com/artiste/jon-holmes/ Profile] on agent's site
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050405233047/http://www.garbledonline.net/jonholmesinterview.html Cyberchat]

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Category:1973 births

Category:Alumni of Canterbury Christ Church University

Category:English radio DJs

Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters

Category:BBC Radio 6 Music presenters

Category:English comedy writers

Category:English sketch comedians

Category:Living people

Category:People from Stratford-on-Avon District

Category:English male comedians

Category:Comedians from Warwickshire