Jon Culshaw

Jon Culshaw

Jon Culshaw is an English comedian and master impressionist.

He is best known as the star of the hit BBC series Dead Ringers, impersonating well known celebrities including George Bush, Tony Blair, Ozzy Osborne, Des Lynam, Tom Baker, Michael Parkinson and David Beckham. With a catalogue of over 350 impressions he is regarded by many as the best impressionist in the UK. Jon Culshaw began his radio career in hospital radio in Ormskirk. His first job was at Red Rose Radio (now Rock FM) in Preston in 1987, where even then he used to occasionally read the weather in the voice of Frank Bruno. For around four years in the late 1980s, he was a DJ on the commercial radio station Viking FM, based in Hull, and also had a breakfast show on Pennine Radio (now The Pulse of West Yorkshire) and Radio Wave in Blackpool. After doing some voice-over work he was then was catapulted to prominence with Spitting Image, where he voiced around forty characters, including John Major, the then Prime Minister.

Comedy on the Radio

Culshaw appeared on BBC Radio 2′s It’s Been a Bad Week, appeared as a guest on the BBC2 Star Trek Night Quiz in August 1996, and was also a regular guest on the Chris Moyles afternoon show on BBC Radio 1 from 1998–2002. Culshaw was also one of the stars of the BBC Radio 4 comedy impression series Dead Ringers, which ran from 2000 to 2007, and the BBC Two television series of the same name, from 2002 to 2007.

Comedy on the Television

Between 2001 and 2002 he had a programme on ITV called Alter Ego where he interviewed male celebrities in their own style of speaking, a form of simultaneous translation. On ITV he also appeared on 2DTV, a cartoon version of what Dead Ringers would do when transposed to TV. Using the same production team, in early 2004, he had his own programme, The Impressionable Jon Culshaw which was commissioned for ITV1. In 2005, Culshaw was a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief does Fame Academy. In January 2006, he began presenting the BBC show Jon Culshaw’s Commercial Breakdown shown on Friday Nights. In 2006, he received an honorary fellowship from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. In January 2008, he appeared on Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, as part of a pub-quiz team, with Chris Moyles. In May 2008 he appeared in the BBC documentary series Comedy Map of Britain. On 31 October 2009, Culshaw started a new comedy sketch show with Debra Stephenson, The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson. Its third series began on 26 October 2011.

Other Work

In 2010, Culshaw appeared in the television series, Missing, as Des Martin. In January 2012 he appeared on the BBC2 astronomy programme, “Stargazing Live”, with Professor Brian Cox and comedian Dara Ó Briain. He also was invited as a guest speaker at the Cambridge Union Society, answering questions and responding to requests for impersonations. John has developed an excellent reputation on the after dinner circuit with his popular impressions and naturally entertaining persona.