The Manchester comedian was picked to present the annual event for the second time
Jason Manford has fired back on social media after fans said they switched off ITV’s Royal Variety Performance as they claimed that the host was ‘dull’.
The Manchester comedian finally got his moment to present the annual talent showcase last month. Prior to this, he presented the Royal Albert Hall event during the COVID pandemic without an audience.
With ITV airing the event on Sunday night (December 21), viewers were treated to a slew of performances from major acts. The likes of Jessie J, Britain’s Got Talent winner Harry Moulding and Madness all demonstrated why they’re household names.
In a special TV moment, Jason introduced a show-stopping finale from the multi-award winning musical Les Misérables, which will saw 400 performers take to the stage including Michael Ball, Matt Lucas, Katy Secombe, Bradley Jaden and Killian Donnelly, along with the West End and Paris casts, plus amateur companies from all over the UK, to perform a medley celebrating the show’s 40th anniversary.
Representing the Royal Family this year is their Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales, who are attending the event for the sixth time. William and Kate have previously attended the showcase of talent in 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021 and most recently in 2023.
Kicking off the evening, Jason wasted no time in showing off his comedic chops to everyone in the audience, including the Royals. Jason began his opening monologue by saying the presenting gig is ‘the ultimate privilege’, calling it a comedian’s ‘Wembley final’.
The set also saw Jason talk about his dad’s reaction when he told him he’s presenting The Royal Variety Performance. According to Jason, his dad said ‘I’ll see what I can do’ and wasn’t all that impressed by his achievement.
Jason went on to say that his dad pointed out that he ‘doesn’t watch’ his brother plumbing and that his brother is the one ‘who has the proper job’. Jason noted: “He looks down his nose at me because all this is not a proper job.”
“The worst thing one of your siblings can say is the words ‘you changed’. He’s right, I still feel working class, I’ve had to accept it because I know my children are middle class,” he joked.
From here the rest of Jason’s mini-set was full of jokes about how posh his children are, including when his brother said to ‘come and get your posh kids’ after they became confused by houses being stuck together.
However, the opening minutes of Jason’s performance saw a number of viewers take to X, previously known as Twitter, to give their brutally honest reviews about how he fared with his opening monologue.
@fieldy56 said: “Can’t believe Jason Manford is rehashing all this stuff about his brother and class. Been doing it for years #royalvariety.” @AndrewHighPeak1 added: “Nice enough bloke but he ain’t that funny. #RoyalVarietyPerformance.”
@AndySP37 wrote: “The Posh jokes are that old now, his kids are on the other side of middle management #RoyalVarietyPerformance.” @KarenlovesGB posted: “Jason Manford taking the p*** out if his posh kids and his common brother isn’t the flex he thinks it is. Where’s Ricky Gervais when you need him #royalvarietyshow.”
@Rosie12_1994 commented: “#royalvarietyperformance wish it wasn’t jason manford hosting though.” @JeanOloan argued: “I like Jason Manford. He’s a good host. #royalvarietyperformance.”
During the broadcast of the event, Jason engaged with a number of users of the Elon Musk app to respond to the criticism he was receiving. Called a ‘s*** copy of Jimmy Tarbuck’ by one person, Jason replied: “I can’t think of anyone better tbh, just my opinion sorry.”
When one user said they were ‘’Switching off @Jason Manford on TV god he’s dull’, Jason hit back: “’Hahaa thanks for letting me know, Merry Christmas big fella.” Asked why he was searching his own name, Jason explained: “I like it! Means I can find out what real people think not just those who already like me.”
When quizzed why he used some of the material he’s used in the past Jason pointed out: “Tough gig, I pulled out the gags that were gonna see me through!”
Replying to one person who complimented his performance, Jason noted: “Trick is with these hosting gigs is to realise quickly ‘it ain’t about you!’ Do your opening, have a moment later on and then for the rest of it, get them acts on and off with as much excitement & respect as possible!”
