Martin Christopher Jarvis (born 20 April 1969) is an English actor, presenter and writer who has appeared mainly on children's television for the BBC since 1992, apart from 2000–2002 when he was working with ITV and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. In 2019 he started a radio station for children called Little Radio.

Career

Early career

Jarvis made his name in the early 1990s on Children's BBC, presenting from the "Broom Cupboard" alongside

Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' and '' The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show '' Live ...

and Josie d'Arby as well as hosting his own shows like ''Look Sharp''. Chris wrote a lot of material for

Children's BBC BBC Children's and Education is the BBC division responsible for media content for children in the UK. Since the launch of specially dedicated television channels in 2002, the services have been marketed under two brands. CBBC (short for Chil ...

himself (including the mini soap opera ''Wood Lane TV'') and created several memorable characters including "The Anorak". In 1997, Chris was part of ''The Friday Zone'' (which was broadcast on Friday afternoons on BBC One for most of the children's slot) with

Debra Stephenson Debra Stephenson (born 4 June 1972) is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer, best known for her roles as Diane Powell in '' Playing the Field'', Shell Dockley in '' Bad Girls'' and as Frankie Baldwin in ''Coronation Street'' ...

, Peter Simon,

Dominic Wood Dominic Simon "Dom" Wood (born 3 January 1978) is an English entertainer, magician and presenter of radio and television, best known as one half of the double act Dick and Dom, with the other being Richard McCourt. From 14 October 2007 to Sept ...

, Steve Rock and Emma Lee. They released a single called "Glasses" as a spin-off from the programme, to raise money for

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

. He then hosted ''

Fully Booked ''Fully Booked'', later retitled ''FBi'', is a British children's television series produced by BBC Scotland and broadcast from 22 April 1995 to 23 September 2000. Format Series 1–3 The first series is presented by Zoe Ball and Grant Stott, an ...

'' with

Tim Vincent Tim Vincent (born Timothy Russell Walker; 4 November 1972) is a Welsh actor and television presenter. He appeared on the children's programme ''Blue Peter'' between 1993 and 1997 and has presented several Miss World contests. For several years, ...

and

Gail Porter Gail Porter (born 23 March 1971) is a Scottish television personality, former model and actress. She started her television career in children's TV, before branching out into modelling and presenting mainstream TV. In the 1990s, she famously po ...

for a few years. He has appeared on many other TV shows including '' Short Change'', ''Exclusive'', ''

Playdays ''Playdays'' (known as ''Playbus'' until December 1989) is a British pre-school television programme which ran from 1988 to 1997 on CBBC. The show was the successor to ''Play School'' and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational p ...

'' and ''Soap Fever''.

CBeebies

Chris was one of the original lineup of

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older chil ...

presenters, alongside Pui Fan Lee, Sidney Sloane, and

Sue Monroe Sue Monroe is a British television presenter, actress, and author best known for hosting CBeebies, and playing Poppy in ''Playdays''. Career Monroe presented, voiced and puppeteered Poppy the Cat in Playdays from 1990 to 1997. In February 2002 ...

every day. From March 2007 until his departure on 2 January 2009, he presented alongside Lee from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm with ''Discover and Do'', then ''the Bedtime Hour'' from 6:00 pm and again on BBC Two in the mornings. He also starred in '' Step Inside'' as Mr Mopple and voiced characters in

Underground Ernie ''Underground Ernie'' is a 2006 British educational computer animated children's television series produced by Joella Productions for the BBC on both CBeebies and BBC Two, and sold internationally by BBC Worldwide. It is set in ''International ...

. In 2009, he and Lee left the channel’s main presentation to create '' Show Me Show Me''. '' Show Me Show Me'' is still broadcast on

today. The first 40 half-hour episodes were broadcast on the

channel, BBC One and BBC Two from Monday 6 July 2009 every weekday at 10:00 am and 1:30 pm. Series 5 was filmed on location near Manchester in 2013. Chris and Pui regularly appear in other

shows, including '' Justin's House'' and the annual Christmas shows; in 2012 Chris wrote ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' and played Dame Trott. He has also appeared in productions of Shakespeare plays that have aired on CBeebies playing Snout in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Alonso in The Tempest. Since 2010, Chris and Pui have toured the UK with ''The Chris and Pui Roadshow''. Besides Show Me Show Me he also presents CBeebies Stargazing with

Maggie Aderin-Pocock Margaret Ebunoluwa Aderin-Pocock (; born 9 March 1968) is a British space scientist and science educator. She is an honorary research associate of University College London's Department of Physics and Astronomy. Since February 2014, she has co ...

and has presented the CBeebies Prom at the Royal Albert Hall.

Acting

As an actor Chris Jarvis has appeared in '' The Demon Headmaster'' and ''

ChuckleVision ''ChuckleVision'' is a British children's comedy television series created by Martin Hughes and the Chuckle Brothers for the BBC. It starred Barry and Paul Elliott as the Chuckle Brothers and occasionally their older brothers, Jimmy, and Brian ...

'', and played Mr Mopple in early

story-telling programme '' Step Inside''. He also presented ''Maths Mansion''.

Music

Jarvis hosts family concerts for the London Philharmonic Orchestra LPO and the

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at MediaC ...

. He has been seen playing piano, guitar, glockenspiel and bell-ringing on ''Show Me Show Me''.

Pantomime

Jarvis has appeared in pantomimes professionally every year since 1995, and prior to that had performed in several as an amateur. Since 2001, he has written and directed many of these pantomimes as well. * 1995 'Aladdin' Guildford –

Bernie Nolan Bernadette Therese Nolan (17 October 1960 – 4 July 2013) was an Irish actress, singer and television personality, formerly lead vocalist of the girl group the Nolans. She was the second youngest of sisters Anne, Denise, Maureen, Linda and ...

, Clare Buckfield, Jack Douglas,

Richard Gibson Richard Gibson (born 1 January 1954) is an English actor, best known for his role as the archetypal Gestapo Officer Herr Otto Flick in the BBC hit sitcom series, Allo 'Allo!''. Career Gibson was born in Kampala, Uganda, before the country ...

, * 1996 'Aladdin' Richmond –

Bonnie Langford Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series ''Just William''. In the 1980s, she played c ...

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records "The Hole in the Groun ...

Terrence Hardiman Terrence Hardiman (born 6 April 1937)Biographical detail
Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as '' Game for ...

, Vicki Michelle,

Toyah Willcox Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English musician, actress, and TV presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Willcox has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays an ...

, Robert Duncan, * 1998 'Cinderella' Lewisham –

Linda Robson Linda Patricia Mary Dunford ( Robson; born 13 March 1958) is an English actress and television presenter. She is best known for playing Tracey Stubbs in the sitcom ''Birds of a Feather'' (1989–1998, 2014–2020) and her appearances as a weekly ...

Femi Oke Femi Oke ( ; born 30 June 1966) is a British television presenter and journalist. Early life and education Femi Oke was born in London, England, to Nigerian parents of the Yoruba ethnic group. She is a graduate of Birmingham University, where ...

* 1999 'Peter Pan' Reading –

Derek Griffiths Derek Griffiths (born 15 July 1946) is a British actor, singer, and voice artist who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to present and has more recently played parts in television drama. Career Griffiths was ...

, Hilary O'Neil * 2000 'Jack & the Beanstalk' Croydon –

Kate Ritchie Katherine Leigh Ritchie is an Australian actress, radio presenter and children's author, she remains best known for her long-running role as original character Sally Fletcher on the television soap opera ''Home and Away'', for which she won tw ...

, * 2001 'Cinderella' Malvern –

Marti Webb Marti Webb (born 13 December 1943) is an English actress and singer, who appeared on stage in '' Evita'', before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman show '' Tell Me on a Sunday'' in 1980. This included her biggest hit single, " Take Th ...

, Nicholas Smith * 2002 'Cinderella' Bournemouth –

Ruth Madoc Ruth Madoc (born Margaret Ruth Llewellyn Baker; 16 April 1943 – 9 December 2022) was a British actress who had a career on stage and screen spanning over 60 years. She was best known for her role as Gladys Pugh in the BBC television comedy '' ...

, Nicholas Smith * 2003 'Cinderella' Basingstoke – Sarah Thomas, Michael Knowles * 2004 'Jack & the Beanstalk' Bournemouth – Chris Ellison, Tom Owen, Jackie Piper * 2005 'Aladdin' Bournemouth –

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, Mark Squires * 2006 'Snow White' Tunbridge Wells –

Carol Harrison Carol Harrison (born 8 February 1955) is an English actress and writer. She is known mostly for her work on British television, in particular her role as Louise Raymond in BBC's ''EastEnders''. Career Harrison made her acting debut in 1976, i ...

, Richard Calkin * 2007 'Snow White' Basingstoke –

, Tom Owen * 2008 'Cinderella' Swansea –

Su Pollard Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''Oh, Doctor Beec ...

, Sarah Thomas * 2009 'Snow White' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with Su Pollard Bournemouth International Centre – Jack and the Beanstalk
* 2010 'Cinderella' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with

Amanda Barrie Amanda Barrie (born Shirley Anne Broadbent; 14 September 1935) is an English actress. She appeared in two of the '' Carry On'' films before being cast as Alma Halliwell in ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', which she played on and off for ...

. * 2011 'Jack & the Beanstalk' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with Debra Stephenson, Brian Capron, Nick Wilton & Kate Weston * 2012 'Sleeping Beauty' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with Su Pollard. * 2013 'Aladdin' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with Scott Maslen, Bobby Crush, Nicholas Khan, Jennifer Saayeng, Richard Vincent, Jamie-Lee Mason * 2014 'Snow White' Richmond Theatre –

Jerry Hall Jerry Faye Hall (born July 2, 1956) is an American model and actress. She began modelling in the 1970s and became one of the most sought after models in the world. She transitioned into acting, appearing in the 1989 film ''Batman''. Hall was th ...

* 2015 'Cinderella' Richmond Theatre * 2016 'Sleeping Beauty' Richmond Theatre * 2017 'Jack and the Beanstalk' Wycombe Swan Theatre with

Simon Webbe Simon Solomon Webbe (born 30 March 1979) is a British singer. He is best known as a member of the boy band Blue, forming in 2000 before splitting in 2005 and reforming in 2009, selling over 15 million records. Webbe released three solo studio a ...

and

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* 2018 'Dick Whittington' Poole Lighthouse with

* 2019 'Sleeping Beauty' Swindon Wyvern with

Michelle Collins Michelle Danielle Collins (born 28 May 1962) is an English actress and TV presenter, best known for her roles in the British soap operas ''EastEnders'' and ''Coronation Street''. Collins played Cindy Beale in the BBC soap ''EastEnders'' from ...

* 2020 Puss in Boots Tiring Production with

Suzanne Shaw Suzanne Christine Crowshaw (born 29 September 1981), known as Suzanne Shaw, is an English actress, singer and television personality, who rose to fame after winning the talent contest ''Popstars'' and subsequently being a member of the band Hear' ...

* 2021 'Beauty & the Beast' Poole Lighthouse * 2022 'Cinderella' Poole Lighthouse with Tyger Drew-Honey, Alim Jadavji, Andrew Pollard, Charlotte Wood and Lauren Azania Jarvis has been involved with several televised pantomimes on

, including 2012’s Jack and the beanstalk which he wrote and starred Dame Trot, 2011's ''Strictly Cinderella'' which he co-wrote, and starred in as Baron Hardup, 2010's ''Aladdin'' (in which he plays Emperor Sho Mee) and 2009's ''Jack & Jill'' (which he wrote and appeared in a cameo).

Personal life

Jarvis grew up in

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It i ...

and Brentwood. He is the godfather to one of fellow CBeebies presenter Pui Fan Lee's sons. He is 5'9" tall.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jarvis, Chris 1969 births Living people British male television actors British television presenters People from Romford