TV & Showbiz

Jason Manford adds TONNES of new dates to 2025 UK tour

I see your numerous tour dates and raise you by a shedload more.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 26th November 2024

Local comedy legend Jason Manford has just added a tonne of new tour dates to his 2025 UK tour, and when we say a TONNE, we mean a big metric mega-tonne of them.

To be honest, there are so many he might as well be doing a whole extra tour and a half.

Jason already had plenty of gigs scheduled all throughout the year but now the Salford-born comic, presenter and all-round performer will be pretty much doubling his work rate and then some with an additional 89 new dates – 89!

Better yet, a good old chunk of them are in and around Greater Manchester, so if you’re mad for Manford, we’re going to go out on a limb and say you will absolutely be able to grab yourself a ticket.

Jason, 43, will be bringing his ‘A Manford All Seasons’ tour to a laundry list of new locations up and down the country.

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Having already booked in a whopping 88 dates before deciding to hit copy and paste, this takes his total 2025 UK tour dates to a staggering 176 tour dates. Unreal.

Wouldn’t expect anything less than from a Northern lad putting the graft in, though, would you?

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The now Stockport-based showman’s latest comedy offering has had a warm reception from fans and critics, with The Guardian hailing it as “expert observational comedy” and the Daily Telegraph applauding his “laid-back charm and sharp turn of phrase you can’t manufacture”.

Manford has had standing ovations most nights and as for the Manc funny man himself, Jason said: “I’m absolutely blown away by the response to this tour so far. I love touring and bringing some chuckles in these difficult times and so adding these dates means I can see even more of you all over the country.”

Having amassed a following through various projects on stage and screen, be it stand-up, acting, presenting, panel shows and even singing, he’s not only a household name but a pretty family-friendly one at that – a bonus that can go a long way with audiences.

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Adding dates at the Stockport Plaza, Middleton Arena, The Albert Halls in Bolton; The Storyhouse in Chester, Parr Hall in Warrington, The Opera House in Buxton (let me catch my breath) and literally dozens more reaching far beyond the North West, he’s going to a busy man next year.

Oh, and there’s a big Co-op Live Arena gig thrown in there on 24 October 2025 too.

Put it this way, if you live in a place, he’s most likely coming somewhere near your direction.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, 29 November at 10am. You can get ready to grab yours HERE.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Dunk/University of Salford (via Flickr)/David Dixon (via Geograph)

TV & Showbiz

Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Call yourself a clever clogs? The BBC is currently looking for contestants to take part in what is widely considered the hardest quiz show on TV.

That’s right – Only Connect is back for another series on BBC Two.

Presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell and first broadcast all the way back in 2008, Only Connect takes TV quizzing to the next level, as it sees two teams compete against each other by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues.

In this quiz show – which viewers have dubbed one of the most challenging there is – knowledge only takes you so far, as the ability to think laterally is also deemed ‘vitally important’.

A casting call for the upcoming 2027 series has been shared on the BBC website, with people from Greater Manchester encouraged to apply.

Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’ / Credit: BBC

The casting call reads: “The popular BBC Two quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell returns for a new series in 2027.

“Only Connect is seeking teams of three players OR single applicants or teams of two looking for like-minded teammates to pool their combined wits to solve fiendish conundrums and vexing puzzles.

“This is the quiz series where, as in life itself, knowledge will only take you so far: patience and lateral thinking are also vital. It’s all about making connections between things which may appear, at first glance, not to be connected at all.”

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Reckon you’ve got what it takes then? Applications are now open, and all applicants must be aged 18 or over and a resident in the UK or Channel Islands.

Find out more and apply here.

Featured Image – BBC

TV & Showbiz

Channel 4 is looking for Mancs who think they can survive the apocalypse for a new TV series

Lydia Mastrolonardo Lydia Mastrolonardo

Have you always wanted to see how long you’d last in an apocalypse?

Well now’s your chance, as Apocalypse is potentially coming back to Channel 4 for a second series, with producers having put out a nationwide casting call for contestants willing to take part. 

The casting call simply reads: “Do you think you have what it takes to survive the end of the world?”

Described as a dystopian series designed to test the creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience of our nation, Apocalypse sees players are pushed out of their comfort zones and put to the ultimate test.

In the series, ordinary people are tasked with surviving for 28 days in an abandoned city – used previously only for the military to practice urban warfare – with no food, running water, electricity or heat. 

Produced by The Garden – which is part of ITV Studios – for Channel 4, the show’s creators are now calling on Mancs and people up and down the country with the ‘courage and ingenuity’ to compete, to get in touch and apply for the potential second series.

Does your mate always bang on after watching a post-apocalyptic film that they would’ve done things differently? Or is the news at the moment freaking you out and you want to give the end of the world a bit of a practice run? Either way, sign up, test that plan you’ve built in your head, and see if you’ve really got what it takes.

Applications are now open, and all you need to do is fill in a short application form and one of the production team will get back to you if they would like to proceed. Come on, let’s prove what Mancs are made of. 

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Applications close on Sunday 4 October 2026 at midnight, and you must be 18 or above, with a valid UK or ROI passport, to enter. 

Find out more and apply here.

Featured Image – Matthew Salacuse / Channel 4

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