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 the co-host of Guessable on Comedy Central alongside Sara Pascoe and team captain Alan Davies. He played the lead role in cult hit BBC3/Netflix sitcom Top Coppers and has also appeared on shows including Live at the Apollo (BBC), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), Never Mind the Buzzcocks (Sky) and House of Games (BBC2).
Beyond John’s Edinburgh Comedy Award success his live shows have also notably picked up three Melbourne Comedy 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 his biggest and most critically-acclaimed tour show to date. It was directed by Olivier Award-winning director Jon Brittain, won Best Show at the Chortle Awards 2024 and secured his third Melbourne Comedy Award nomination. The show toured nationally, was twice-extended and played over 100 dates including 4 sold-out shows at the Bloomsbury Theatre and 2 sold-out shows at the iconic Royal Court Theatre, London. The show was filmed and released as a special on Sky and Now TV in August 2024.
Elsewhere across the airwaves John co-wrote and starred 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).
Praise for The Varnishing Days (2023/2024):
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“The finest set of his career… what a show”
Brian Logan, The Guardian
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“About as funny as anything this decade”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
