Jon Culshaw

About

English comedian and master impressionist on the hit BBC series Dead Ringers. With a growing catalogue of over 350 impressions Jon Culshaw is regarded by many as the UK’s top impersonator.

Jon’s first foray into the world of comedy was at Red Rose Radio (now Rock FM) where he would occasionally read the weather in the voice of Frank Bruno. Then, for 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).

It was as an impressionist and voice-over artist on Spitting Image when Jon’s comedy career took off. The satirical puppet show started in 1984 and lasted for 12 years with Jon voicing around forty of the characters, including John Major.

In the early noughties he starred in Alter Ego, interviewing male celebrities and mimicking their style of speech. He also appeared on the cartoon impression show 2DTV, and, using the same production team, had his own programme, The Impressionable Jon Culshaw, commissioned for ITV1 in 2004.

Jon’s biggest hit came as 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.

Jon is also well-known for his collaborative works with Debra Stephenson. The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson started in 2009 and parodied a number of celebrities such as Lord Alan Sugar, Ray Mears, Jonathan Ross, stars of Dragons’ Den, Theo Paphitis and Hilary Devey, and celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. The show was nominated for a National Television Award.

Jon Culshaw reunited with Debra Stephenson in 2015 to breath new life into satire with a show called newzoids, the first satirical puppet show since Spitting Image ended nearly 20 years ago.

Given his ability to entertain, Jon is a popular events host and guest speaker/celebrity. He was invited as a guest speaker at the Cambridge Union Society, answering questions and responding to requests for impersonations, and, in 2015, was chosen to host the One Oldham Business Awards.

John has also developed an excellent reputation on the after dinner circuit with his popular impressions and naturally entertaining persona.