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We herald the arrival of 8 Out of 10 Cats sixth series by talking to team captain Jason Manford. The Manchester born comedian is now appearing in his second series of the irreverent panel show, so we asked him if he’s settled in, if David Walliams has tried it on with him yet and if he prefers Nando’s or Cristiano Ronaldo. Read on…
This is your second series on 8 Out of 10 Cats – do you feel at home on it now?
Sort of. It’s been a like a year since we did the last one and I feel pretty settled. When I bump into Jimmy and Sean I don’t feel overawed like I did last season. It was hard last series because I was stepping into Dave Spikey’s shoes after he’d done such a top job after he’d done so many series, but I feel alright now, I feel much more part of the series.
You filled the shoes of Dave Spikey, but the question is, does Dave Spikey have nice shoes?
Well, he’s actually a size smaller than me, so they’re a bit tight to be honest.
What’s your favourite thing about being on the show?
I like all the people you get to meet. The team who make the show are really nice, which helps. Tonight I’m between David Walliams and Jodie Kidd, which is not a bad sandwich. Last year I met Joan Rivers, so that’s one of my favourite things – meeting all these legends, but then I also happen to meet someone like Charlie from Big Brother.
People may still be unfamiliar with you and your comedy – so for those poor people, can you describe your comedic style in a sentence?
I'm just trying to be funny!
David Walliams keeps coming back time and time again as a guest on the 8 Out of 10 Cats – has he managed to sleep with all and sundry on the show yet?
Well he hasn’t with either me or Sean, but I’m not sure about Jimmy. You’d have to ask him, I think.
When did you decide to begin a career in comedy?
I don’t know really. I’ve been doing comedy since I was 17, but I never really sat down and said, “right, I want to do comedy,” I just fell into it.
You’ve appeared in various acting roles including Shameless and Ideal, how did they come about?
Just the usual really – auditioning and occasionally getting the part. I got Ideal because they were using a lot of Manchester comics in it. For Shameless I just had a regular audition for it, it was none of this “who you know” business, I just had to fake an orgasm in front of eight people.
Has acting always been an ambition of yours?
Yeah, I love it. I do like acting, but I like everything I do really. I’m a fingers in pie sort of guy – I like doing lots of things. I’m not focusing on anyone area, I’m just doing stuff that I like and it seems to be going alright so far.
You played for Man City in the televised football tournament the Premier League All Stars last year. How did you get on?
Well, you know, I don’t think I’m going to get the call from Mark Hughes anytime soon. I do bring my boots every Saturday just on the off chance Man City are missing a central defender. It was alright, though I fell over, but that was because the floor was slippy, not because I was rubbish. That’s another perk of the job, getting to meet these people. I got to meet Ruud Gullit, Ian Wright and Rodney Marsh.
And finally, who’s your tip for Euro 2008?
I’m doing that thing where because we’re not there I’m having to find another team to support just by proxy. I was going to support Portugal because I quite like Nando’s, but I just don’t know if I like Nando’s more than I dislike Cristiano Ronaldo, so it’s quite a tough call really. I’m going to go for Germany just because I think it’s about time we made pals and I also bought a shirt in JJB Sports for a fiver about eight years ago and it still fits.
