Comedian, TV star and former Dancing on Ice contestant Josh Jones talks about comedy highs-and-lows and now being a ‘doctor’s wife’
Popular comedian and TV star Josh Jones, originally from Oldham, lifts the lid on his stand-up career(Image: Josh Faithi)
For Oldham comedian Josh Jones, last year started with a brief but memorable stint on Dancing On Ice – only drawn to a halt after suffering an ankle injury. For Josh, the start of 2026 is a little less skating on thin ice and perhaps a bit more… masterful?
Outside of the ice rink, the Failsworth performer, 33, has made a name for himself with popular appearances on the likes of 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie to You? and Pointless Celebrities. On New Year’s Eve, he also appeared on Celebrity Mastermind whilst raising money for the Forever Manchester charity.
But Josh is also currently in the midst of a tour, titled I Haven’t Won The Lottery So Here’s Another Show, which has already seen him sell out The Lowry theatre. He’ll be back in Manchester for a show at famed comedy club Frog & Bucket on March 4, as well as at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre on March 22.
“I love doing stand-up, but I’m not doing it for free – I’ve got bills to pay,” Josh, who got his big break by appearing on Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club in 2020, tells the Manchester Evening News about the reason behind the name of the tour. “The first leg of the tour just about paid off my tax bill!
‘Sometimes I feel like Fred from Coronation Street – some 112-year-old with gravy on his chin'(Image: Josh Faithi)
“The tour is about a whole load of things, but it’s mostly about where I’m up to in my life now that I’m living with my boyfriend who earns a lot more money than me now. He’s a doctor, so I’m only having to do comedy part-time now. Otherwise, I’m just chilling. Honestly, it’s a really funny show, but when you speak about it like this, it sounds crap. I promise it’s not!”
Whilst originally from Oldham, Josh now lives with his boyfriend in Sale. But he still frequents the comedy venues of the city, including that aforementioned Frog & Bucket which paved the way for the careers of so many comedy giants – including Peter Kay and John Bishop to name just two.
“I’ve gigged at the Frog hundreds of times,” Josh says. “I’m there all the time and I know everyone there. That club has been a big part of my career. They do their open mic night, Beat the Frog, and it was a big moment for me doing that. I’ve got a lot of time for the Frog.”
But a stand-up career was not always on the horizon for Josh, who admits he became an accidental comedian whilst studying at Salford University. “I had never even watched stand-up before I did it,” he explains. “I didn’t really understand why anybody did it, to be honest.
“I always wanted to be an actor and I was kind of pushed into stand-up. But when I did it, I just fell in love with it. But I really didn’t care for it before then.”
Josh briefly appeared on the 2025 series of Dancing on Ice before having to withdraw due to an ankle injury(Image: ITV)
Growing up, Josh, who also hosts the Chatting with Cherubs podcast with fellow comedians Morgan Rees and Gearóid Farrelly, says he was often the target of jokes at school because of his now-trademark high-pitched voice. But, by using his natural sense of humour, he was able to find his own way of combatting it.
“I was quite quick-witted at school,” Josh says. “I did get bullied a bit, but not as much as you would probably think. I was actually quite good at comebacks that I think people just left me alone because they knew I’d be able to rip into them. I was pretty naughty as well. It’s only recently that I’ve realised that the teachers actually let me get away with a lot more than they should have just because I was able to make them laugh.”
Josh, who came out as gay at the age of 19, says he has seen how the comedy world has changed in the ten years since he began performing. He says there are more ‘openly queer’ performers now, and audiences are usually more prepared to hear about LGBTQ+ culture in sets, but one thing still remains.
“What I always try to say is that it doesn’t actually matter who or what you are when it comes to comedy,” he explains. “All that matters really at the end of the day is whether you’re good at your job, which is making an audience laugh. If you can’t do that then there’s no point anyway.
Josh says he always wanted to be an actor, but fell into stand-up by chance and never looked back(Image: Jiksaw)
“But I have seen that some of the audiences have started to change over the years. If I do a gig in London, there will be loads of 19-year-old queer people with mad, blue hair and it makes me feel like I’m some 112-year-old who’s just corrupt and with gravy on his chin. They’re all going about doing all sorts of fun things and I’m just there like ‘I love my dog’. It makes me feel like Fred from Coronation Street.”
And with those ten years to his name, Josh has certainly seen some rowdy crowds. Whilst he cites Greater Manchester as one of his – perhaps biased – favourite places to perform, he’s certainly played to a host of interesting audiences.
He recalls: “I was playing in Sheffield once and this bloke got his balls out and asked me to sign them. When I did a show down south, I got flashed by a childminder. She was part of a big group of drunken childminders on the front row who just pulled her top off. They were feral, absolutely feral.
“Teachers and any sort of guardians are often the worst audience members because it’s usually their night off. They have to retain themselves so much during their job that a night out for them just gets wild. It’s quite commonly known amongst comedians that teachers in the crowd are usually a bad sign because you know they’re going to end up setting you on fire in some way or another.”
Josh Jones will play shows in Manchester and Bolton in March 2026(Image: Josh Faithi)
Thankfully, Josh says he rarely ‘bombs’ on stage nowadays, thanks to refining his approach to his sets through his years of experience and building up his reputation. But, it wasn’t always the case. “I don’t really die on my bum on stage anymore because I’ve been going for a few years,” he says.
“But the first few years were rough – I don’t know how I kept on going because some of them were just horrendous. When you’re learning how to do stand-up, you really learn to eat **** when you make a fool of yourself. There is a bit of a skill to writing a good joke that lands. It’s not easy to do and I don’t think some people often realise that.”
When his tour comes to an end at the end of April in Sheffield (hopefully, sans balls this time), Josh says he wants to relax, maybe go on holiday and enjoy the life of luxury as a doctor’s wife. But he does have one project in the works which could become a full-circle moment for him.
“It’s in the very early stages but I want to write something that’s kind of based on me but not at the same time,” he explains. “If it works out, it will be quite nice to have that full-circle moment where I go back to acting. Stand-up really took over my life so it will be nice to have that little bit of a change too.
“The main part of stand-up is the writing, performing it is usually a piece of piss.
“I’ve put a gay bloke in it just because I think it’ll be cheaper if I put myself in it, and also because there’s no chance of me ever playing straight!”
Tickets for Josh Jones at Frog & Bucket on March 4 can be bought here, whilst tickets for the March 22 show at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton can be bought here.