John Kearns is an actor, writer and the only comedian to have won both the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for Best Show (Shtick) and Best Newcomer (Sight Gags for Perverts) in the awards’ 40-year history.
John was a breakout star of series 14 of Taskmaster (Channel 4) and is the co-host of Guessable on Comedy Central alongside Sara Pascoe and team captain Alan Davies. He was the lead role in cult BBC3 sitcom Top Coppers and has also appeared on shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4) and House of Games (BBC2).
An internationally-acclaimed live act, John has delivered his ‘richly, idiosyncratic comedy’ (The Guardian) across the world, and beyond his Edinburgh Comedy Award success, his shows have notably picked up two Melbourne Barry Award nominations, and he was twice-voted one of the Evening Standard’s 1000 Most Influential Londoners. John’s fifth stand-up comedy hour The Varnishing Days, was directed by Olivier Award-winning director Jon Brittain and debuted at the Soho Theatre in 2023 as part of John’s biggest national tour to date which will run until the end of the year, including two shows at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre.
Elsewhere across the airwaves John co-wrote and performed with Tim Key in Lasties (BBC R4), entertained the nation on Christmas Day 2019 with A Very John Kearns Christmas (BBC R4), wrote and performed his own series The John Kearns Show (BBC R4), co-hosts the Microscope podcast with Mat Ewins, and has guested on Tim Key Delves into Daniil Kharms and That’s It (BBC R4). John’s further credits include Pls Like (BBC3), Lazy Susan (BBC3), Drunk History (Comedy Central), Rotters (Sky Arts) and Harry Hill’s Stars In Their Eyes (ITV) as well as hosting and guesting on numerous shows throughout the Edinburgh Fringe (BBC R4/R4 Extra).
