‘I’m driving people to have their Covid jabs!’
Comedian and actor Jason Manford on helping out during the pandemic, and having secret intel on The Masked Singer
He’s a jack-of-all-trades, famed for making us laugh with his standup routines, presenting game shows like First & Last and taking on acting roles on stage and screen. He was even unmasked as the Hedgehog on last year’s ridiculously addictive singing show, The Masked Singer. And this week Jason Manford is back on the box starring in BBC One’s Death In Paradise.
When we catch up, it’s clear Jason jumped at the chance to take part in the show that’s filmed on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. And who can blame him! Here, the dad-of-six, 39, tells us about his working holiday, why he’s loving playing detective on The Masked Singer and his new lockdown hobby…
Hi Jason.Well, Death In Paradise sounds like the dream job… We went to film right at the end of last summer in September when nobody had been on holiday, so it was an absolute godsend.Two weeks in the sunshine.To call it work, I felt a little bit guilty to be honest.
bet your family were jealous!
Oh, my wife was livid [laughs]. Also, because
I kept accidentally calling it a holiday instead of work! We got to the point during filming where, not even as a joke, we’d say things like,“Are you usually like this on holiday?” We’re still on a little WhatsApp group together called “working holiday”.
How does your character fit into the story?
He’s called Craig Mackenzie, is married, and his friends have won the lottery and are living the life that he would love to live out in the Caribbean. He and his wife get invited out there. They’ve not spoken for a while after he’s asked them to lend him some money a little while earlier and they said no. So there’s been a bit of underlying tension between their friendship. But then they invite him out. Is all forgiven? Well, you’ll have to find out…
did you get up to in your downtime?
We climbed one of the mountains, one of the volcanoes, went and did some diving, and went out on canoes and stuff. Mine and Kelvin Fletcher’s first day on set was actually on jet skis. We finished playing on jet skis for 40 minutes and they said,“That’s a wrap for you two today.”
Is it nice for you to be in a show that your children can watch? Anything that my kids and my gran can watch, I’m up for doing. When I’m doing stuff on telly I do it for the people that I care about.
Are you tuning in to The Masked this time around?
Singer
I am. I know some of the other people in it as well. People rang me to say,“Is it any good? Is it fun?”
you’ve had to keep the secret for two years running…
I know, it’s a nightmare! In these times it’s the sort of silliness that we need. I love watching people dressed up as silly things having a sing-song.
people now call you Hedgehog in the street?
Anytime you do a show that captures people’s imaginations, you’re going to be that character for a while. People fell in love with the character.
What
I keep having meetings about various things, and shows like The Generation Game come up. I’d love to do a classic, much-loved show like that and see if there was a way of doing it for a modern audience.
else is on your TV bucket list? What has kept you busy during these strange times?
‘My wife was livid at me doing Death In Paradise!’
I drive a lot of people to their NHS appointments, and for their jabs. I do that four to five times a week. And I’ve just signed up to learn French. My girls started a new school, as we’ve just moved house, and they’re picking up French. My wife speaks it fluently so I thought it was as good a time as any.