John Bishop confirmed his chat show was ending after just 13 episodes, saying he was ‘competing’ in a space ‘congested’ by other household names (Image: ITV)
Comedian John Bishop has quit as host of The John Bishop Show on after two series, admitting vying with TV giants like Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross has taken its toll.
Opening up about his departure to the , Bishop confessed: “I’m not going to do another series of my chat show. It was great to do, but I found that I was competing in a space that was congested. Graham Norton is brilliant at it and Jonathan Ross is brilliant at it. We really don’t need another chat show.”
Though The John Bishop Show kicked off in January 2022 and aired its last episode in February 2023, it wasn’t clear whether it would return until Bishop affirmed it was ending permanently. Despite stacking up against heavy hitters, the comedian still managed to snag star-studded guests such as Michelle Keegan, Maya Jama, Ian McKellen, and Richard E.Grant for his 13-episode run.
Nevertheless, Bishop admitted he struggled with the TV formats and preferred recording for his podcast The Bishop Exchange offers, reports .
The John Bishop Show’s future has been up in the air for two years (Image: PA)
He detailed his reasoning by saying: “A chat show doesn’t allow you to do the depth of interviews that I would like to have done. With television, you’ve got to fit into schedules. But with the podcast, I can do it whenever I want to do it.”
Bishop also announced his upcoming UK tour in celebration of a quarter-century in the stand-up comedy industry, presenting a special deal for supporters: tickets priced at only £25 each.
Reflecting on his long-standing career, last year he said: “I can’t believe that next year it will be 25 years since I first performed. It’s been a rollercoaster! And I can’t thank the fans enough who have supported me all the way. I wanted to mark the anniversary with a brand-new tour and do something to say thank you so every ticket throughout the tour will be £25. I really hope you can come and celebrate with me.”
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The announcement was met with enthusiasm from fans, appreciative of the reasonable ticket pricing. The notably self-reflective Bishop even divulged that he has taken an unusual step to ensure that this tour is his most hilarious one yet by hiring a comedy coach.
“Most comics will sit with another comedian then and they’ll try and make the jokes funnier and they’ll try and write more jokes. But I don’t need the comedian to talk to me about comedy. I need someone who knows about comedy to coach me, so I’ve brought a friend in, Cameron, as my comedy coach. He’s a producer, he’s produced a lot of my television shows,” he explained, grateful for his friend’s “critical eye.”