Rosie Luisa Jones(born 24 June 1990)[1]is a British comedian, writer and actress. After starting her career as a writer onpanel shows,she went on to appear as a guest onThe Last Leg,8 Out of 10 Cats,8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown,QIandHypothetical.[2][3][4][5]She attended the2020 Summer Paralympicsin Tokyo as a roving reporter forThe Last Leg.
Rosie Jones | |
|---|---|
 Jones in 2024 | |
| Born | Rosie Luisa Jones 24 June 1990 Bridlington,Humberside,England |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian, actress, writer |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Website | rosiejonescomedy |
Jones has performed stand-up comedy at theEdinburgh Festival Fringe,incorporating hercerebral palsyinto her comedic style. In 2018, she was featured onEdinburgh Nights.She has also hosted the documentaryAm I a R*tard?,the seriesTrip Hazard: My Great British Adventure,and written an episode ofSex Education.With Helen Bauer, she hosts the podcastDaddy Look at Me.
As an actress, she appeared in six episodes ofCasualtybetween 2021 and 2022. Jones authored a children's book,The Amazing Edie Eckhart,about an 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, and a sequel,The Big Trip.
Early life
editJones grew up inBridlington[6]in the East Riding of Yorkshire and went toHeadlands School.[7]Her parents are teachers.[8]At the age of four, she introduced herself to her class by saying that she hadcerebral palsythat made her "talk slowly" and "fall over a lot".
Career
editComedy writing
editIn 2011, following her graduation with a B.A. in English Language and Creative Writing from the University of Huddersfield,[9] Jones was hired for a year as a junior researcher forObjective Media Groupas part of a disability scheme atChannel 4.She was unemployed for a few years following this. In January 2015, Jones began a screenwriting class at theNational Film and Television School.[10]Jones reached the final of the 2016Funny WomenAwards.[10]She began writing forThe Last Legduring their coverage of the2016 Summer Olympics.[11]Jones also wrote forHarry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule,Would I Lie to You?and8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.[10][12]
Alongside series creatorLaurie Nunn,Jones co-wrote episode four of the second season of theNetflixcomedy-dramaSex Education,released in January 2020.[13]
Television
editJones has been a panellist in episodes of8 Out of 10 Cats[2]andThe Last Leg.[3]In 2019 Jones was a guest onHypotheticaland8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.[5][4]She also appeared on an episode ofJoe Lycett's Got Your Back.[14]
Jones has also appeared on BBC Radio 4'sThe News Quiz,[15]the Channel 4 online programmeThe Last Leg: The Correspondents,[16]theBBC Threeseries "Things Not to Say",[17]BBC Radio 4'sFred at the Stand[18]and BBC web seriesPeriod Dramas.[19]In 2021, Jones appeared in theQIepisode "Sideshows, Stunts and Scavenger Hunts".[20]She participated inCelebrity Mastermindin 2023.[21]
Jones appeared as a panellist on BBC One's political debate programmeQuestion Timetwice, first on 12 November 2020.[22][23]Jones trended onTwittereach time due to the harassment directed towards her.[24]: 25:00
In May 2021, Jones starred in her own Channel 4 series,Trip Hazard: My Great British Adventure.Filmed during theCOVID-19 pandemic,it features Jones visiting a number of UK tourist destinations, joined by other celebrities. In March 2022, a second series of five hour-long episodes was commissioned;[25]it premiered on 23 August 2022.[26]The programme has been nominated for aBAFTA.[8]
Jones presented the 2023 documentaryRosie Jones: Am I a R*tard?[sic], which is aboutonline hate speechagainst disabled people. She reads messages written about her, explores the emotional effect of harassment, the inaction by social media companies and the motivations behind people who send these messages. The use of the slurretardreceived widespread criticism and led to the withdrawal of some contributors.[27][28][29][30]
In March 2022, Channel 4 transmittedDine Hard,a five-partcooking showandchat showthat Jones presented.[25]
Jones has had a number of acting roles, appearing onSilent Witnessin 2018.[31]In 2020, she guest starred in an episode of the third series of the BBC dramaShakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators.[32]In August 2023, it was announced that Jones will play the lead role ofDisability Benefits,an upcoming Channel 4 comedy series.[33]In January 2024, she starred in an episode ofCall the Midwife.[34][35][36]
In early 2024, Jones hosted the comedygame showOut of Order,which aired onComedy Central.[37]
In May 2024, it was announced that Jones would appear as a contestant in the eighteenth series ofTaskmaster,alongsideAndy Zaltzman,Babatunde Aléshé,Emma Sidi,andJack Dee.She finished in last place.
Stand-up comedy
editJones first performed stand-up comedy without preparation at a friend's comedy night.[6]
In 2017, Jones performed "Inspiration" at theEdinburgh Festival Fringe.The show was 35 minutes long and contained jokes about her visit to the2016 Summer Paralympics,using disabled toilets, and commentary on the words "disabled" and "spastic".It received 3.5 stars inChortle[38]and three stars inThe List.[39]
In 2018, Jones' Edinburgh Festival Fringe show was titled "Fifteen Minutes". Jones talks about a hypothetical "able-bodied Rosie" and discusses a sexual fantasy aboutRyan Gosling.She and her routine were featured inEdinburgh Nights,aBBCshow about the Fringe presented byNish Kumar."Fifteen Minutes" received five stars inThe Arts Desk[40]and four stars iniNews,[41]Chortle,[42]The Scotsman[43]and Broadway World.[44]It was listed byEvening Standardas one of the ten "best comedy shows to see" at the festival.[45]
Jones performed at the Greenwich Comedy Festival in 2018.[46]In 2019, Jones performed atSpectacular,a one-off event forComic Relief,[47][48]and appeared at the 2019Women of the World Festival.[49]She has also been a support act forNish Kumar.[50]
Jones began her first solo tour,Triple Threat,in 2023.[24]: 21:00
Other work
editIn June 2019, Jones launched a podcast alongside the fellow comedian Helen Bauer, titledDaddy Look at Me.The podcast features Bauer, Jones and a guest discussing their childhoods and what they did in order to get attention in their youth.[51]
In 2021, Jones authored a children's novel,The Amazing Edie Eckhart.The titular character, an 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, deals with the pressure of entering secondary school and becoming distant from her lifelong friend and support Charlie.[52][53][54]Jones wrote a sequel novel,The Big Trip,which was published on 18 August 2022.[55]
Comedic style
editJones hasataxic cerebral palsy;[56]she incorporates her slow speech pattern into her comedy, constructing jokes to subvert the punchline that audiences expect.[6][11]For instance, she has used the opening line "As you can tell from my voice, I suffer from beingnorthern."[10]Jones unexpectedly refers to previous jokes later in her performances, a trait which one critic describes as "clinically planned".[43]
She describes her style as "cheeky",[6]commenting that she makes jokes that able-bodied people could not.[12]Jones' stand-up routines relate to disability and sexuality,[11]and have been described asdark comedy.[41]
In 2019, Jones received mixed reception for a joke she made onThe Last Legin which she said that as a 16-year-old, environmental activistGreta Thunbergshould only be concerned with "drinkingLambriniand gettingfingered."[57]
Jones said she experiencesimpostor syndrome,having grown up seeing comedians as fast-spoken straight white males.[24]: 22:00 She has also said that she has used jokes as acoping mechanism.[8]
Personal life
editJones is alesbian.On theBBC SoundspodcastDuvet Days,she said "Growing up, there was nobody in TV or radio that looked like me – that sounded like me. There wasFrancesca MartinezinGrange Hill,but that was the only person really. And also my sexuality came into that, like when there was a disabled person they were very much the victim and they didn't have a sexuality, they were very much the stock disabled person. That meant growing up, I didn't accept my sexuality because I thought I'm not gay and disabled. "[58]
Jones has spoken on the rights of disabled people, describing bullying that she has experienced and difficulties in her daily life.[59]She has expressed concerns over the particular vulnerability of disabled people during theCOVID-19 pandemic,and the way emphasis on the virus affecting people with pre-existing conditions has led to disabled people being coded as "second class citizens".[60]During an interview withThe Guardian,Jones commented: "I would love in the next few years to see more disabled comedians, directors, producers, commissioners. I hope disabled people can see me on TV and think: if she can do it, I can do it."[61]She receives social media abuse each time she appears on television.[24]: 28:00
In a 2023 interview withi,Jones said she was mugged five times in the course of two years while walking alone, targeted due to her disability. She said she was regularly rejected by taxi services when drivers assumed her to be drunk. Online, much of the abuse she faces is unwanted sexual comments.[62]
Jones began therapy during the production ofAm I a R*tard?.[62]She said she would recommend it to "literally anyone".[24]: 30:00 Therapy allowed her to believe that she was not responsible for facing discrimination and accept the statement: "sometimes I am a victim".[62]
References
edit- ^Jones, Rosie [@josierones] (24 June 2023)."I turn 33 today..."(Tweet).Retrieved3 November2023– viaTwitter.
- ^ab"8 Out of 10 Cats - On Demand - All 4".All 4.Channel 4.Retrieved9 December2018.
- ^ab"The Last Leg - On Demand - All 4".All 4.Channel 4. Archived fromthe originalon 10 December 2018.Retrieved8 December2018.
- ^ab"8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown - On Demand - All 4".All 4.Channel 4.Retrieved28 August2019.
- ^ab"Hypothetical Series 1, Episode 4".British Comedy Guide.Retrieved17 March2019.
- ^abcdFleckney, Paul (17 August 2018)."Rosie Jones: 'People feel awkward about disability so I always have jokes in my back pocket'".The Guardian.Retrieved9 December2018.
- ^Edwards, John (25 February 2019)."Rosie Jones joins Alan Carr, Jimmy Carr and Sir Lenny Henry at Comic Relief Spectacular".Bridlington Free Press.Retrieved21 September2021.
- ^abcRyan, Frances(4 July 2023)."Rosie Jones on death threats, anxiety and anger: 'I'm not this happy person all the time'".The Guardian.Retrieved26 July2023.
- ^George Buksmann (24 September 2021)."Bridlington comedian Rosie Jones awarded honorary doctorate by University of Huddersfield".Scarborough News.Archivedfrom the original on 10 February 2023.Retrieved28 September2021.
- ^abcdGove, Ed (29 November 2016)."Have you met Miss Jones?".Royal Television Society.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^abcD'Arcy-Jones, Neil (11 July 2018)."Rosie Jones's slow talking, quick thinking stand-up".Gazette Standard.Retrieved9 December2018.
- ^abRahman-Jones, Imran (13 April 2017)."Comedian Rosie Jones wants disabled TV characters who are 'gritty and flawed'".BBC.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^"Sex Education Series 2, Episode 4".British Comedy Guide.Retrieved25 April2020.
- ^"Joe Lycett's Got Your Back: Joe Lycett's Got Your Back - On Demand".Channel 4.Retrieved14 May2020.
- ^"News Quiz host Nish Kumar and the panel take a look at this week's news".BBC. 17 January 2020.Retrieved3 May2022.
- ^"Last Leg: The Correspondents - Episode Guide - All 4".All 4.Channel 4. Archived fromthe originalon 10 December 2018.Retrieved9 December2018.
- ^"Things not to say to someone with cerebral palsy".BBC Three.23 January 2018.Retrieved9 December2018.
- ^"Lyons, Mazadza, Jones and Nelson".BBC Radio 4.31 October 2017.Retrieved9 December2018.
- ^"Period Dramas".Chortle.8 March 2019.Retrieved17 March2019.
- ^"Sideshows, Stunts and Scavenger Hunts".Quite Interesting Limited.Retrieved14 October2021.
- ^"Celebrity Mastermind reveals new contestant line-up and new Friday night slot on BBC One".BBC.9 November 2023.Retrieved26 November2023.
- ^Riley, Anna (13 November 2020)."BBC Question Time viewers moved to tears by Bridlington comedian".HullLive.Retrieved13 November2020.
- ^Bennett, Steve."Rosie Jones to make her Question Time debut: News 2020: Chortle: The UK Comedy Guide".www.chortle.co.uk.Retrieved12 November2020.
- ^abcde"Access All (24 February 2023)".BBC Sounds.Retrieved26 July2023.
- ^ab"Rosie Jones to star in multiple new Channel 4 shows".British Comedy Guide.7 March 2022.Retrieved25 June2022.
- ^"Trip Hazard".comedy.co.uk.Retrieved26 September2022.
- ^Stolworthy, Jacob (4 July 2023)."Rosie Jones defends 'shocking' title of new documentary from 'angry and upset' contributors".The Independent.Retrieved26 July2023.
- ^"Rosie Jones Channel 4 documentary criticised for using ableist slur".ITV News.3 July 2023.Retrieved26 July2023.
- ^McLoughlin, Lisa (11 July 2023)."Rosie Jones defends controversial title of her upcoming Channel 4 documentary".Evening Standard.Retrieved26 July2023.
- ^Rose, Beth (7 July 2023)."Rosie Jones's documentary and the R-word: 'We can't keep being poked like a bear'".Access All.BBC.Retrieved26 July2023.
- ^Davies, Katie (15 July 2018)."Interview: Rosie Jones on her Edinburgh debut hour Fifteen Minutes".Entertainment Focus.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^Cremona, Patrick (21 January 2020)."Tamzin Outhwaite and Vic Reeves among guest-stars as Shakespeare and Hathaway returns".Radio Times.Retrieved14 February2020.
- ^"Channel 4 Commissions New Comedy Series 'Disability Benefits' Starring Rosie Jones".Channel 4.Retrieved1 September2023.
- ^Robinson, Abby (7 January 2024)."Call the Midwife cast praise 'fantastic, superb' guest star Rosie Jones".Radio Times.Retrieved14 January2024.
- ^Midgley, Carol (7 January 2024)."Call the Midwife review — Rosie Jones helps to induce the waterworks".The Times.Retrieved14 January2024.
- ^Wilson, Benji (7 January 2024)."Call the Midwife, BBC One, season 13, ep 1, review: a superb balance of convention and controversy".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved14 January2024.
- ^"Out of Order".comedy.co.uk.Retrieved7 May2024.
- ^Bennett, Steve (8 August 2017)."Rosie Jones: Inspiration".Chortle.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^Black, Suzanne (17 August 2017)."Rosie Jones: Inspiration".The List.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^Lee, Veronica (17 August 2018)."Edinburgh Fringe 2018 reviews: Rosie Jones/ Marcus Brigstocke/ Alice Snedden".The Arts Desk.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^abChris, Green (16 August 2018)."Rosie Jones, Fifteen Minutes, review: 'Deliciously dark, original comedy'".iNews.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^Fleckney, Paul (7 August 2018)."Rosie Jones: Fifteen Minutes".Chortle.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^abRichardson, Jay (20 August 2018)."Comedy review: Rosie Jones: Fifteen Minutes, Pleasance Courtyard".The Scotsman.Retrieved9 December2018.
- ^O'Donoghue, Natalie (4 August 2018)."EDINBURGH 2018: BWW REVIEW: ROSIE JONES, Pleasance Courtyard".Broadway World.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^Paskett, Zoe (19 July 2018)."Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018: The best comedy shows to see".Evening Standard.Retrieved19 August2018.
- ^Bennett, Steve (17 September 2018)."Sean Lock, Henning Wehn, Rosie Jones, Tom Lucy and Kiri Pritchard-McLean".Chortle.Retrieved9 December2018.
- ^Edwards, John (25 February 2019)."Rosie Jones joins Alan Carr, Jimmy Carr and Sir Lenny Henry at Comic Relief Spectacular".Bridlington Free Press.Retrieved17 March2019.
- ^"Comic Relief Launches" Spectacular "Night of Comedy".Comic Relief.3 December 2018.Retrieved17 March2019.
- ^Thomson, Lizzie (5 March 2019)."Women of the World 2019 festival: Line-up, speakers and more for the International Women's Day event at Southbank Centre".Evening Standard.Retrieved17 March2019.
- ^Martel, Stuart (15 March 2019)."Review: Nish Kumar, Grand Opera House, York, March 14".The Press.Retrieved17 March2019.
- ^Dessau, Bruce (17 June 2019)."News: New Podcast From Rosie Jones and Helen Bauer With Guests Nish Kumar, Sophie Duker and Ed Gamble".Beyond the Joke.Retrieved3 September2019.
- ^Jones, Nicolette (8 August 2021)."Children's book of the week: The Amazing Edie Eckhart by Rosie Jones".The Times.Retrieved13 June2022.
- ^Jones, Rosie (6 August 2021)."Rosie Jones: I didn't have disabled heroes in books to look up to as a child, so I've now created my own".i.Retrieved13 June2022.
- ^"'I never saw a disabled character' - New children's book features girl with cerebral palsy ".ITV.com.30 July 2021.Retrieved13 June2022.
- ^"Rosie Jones - The Amazing Edie Eckhart: The Big Trip".British Comedy Guide.Retrieved25 June2022.
- ^Badiozzaman, Emily; Jones, Rosie (28 February 2019)."10 things I want you to know about disability".Stylist.Retrieved17 March2019.
- ^White, Adam (2 January 2020)."The Last Leg: Comedian Rosie Jones shocks viewers with 'disgusting' and 'totally inappropriate' Greta Thunberg joke".The Independent.Retrieved2 January2020.
- ^"Comedian Rosie Jones: I want to show disabled people are sexual beings too".The Irish News.1 August 2019.Retrieved20 November2020.
- ^"A trip to Barbados gave comedian Rosy Jones permission to be herself after years of bullying".The Telegraph.10 April 2021.
- ^"Comedian Rosie Jones: 'How is it OK to talk about disabled people as though they are second-class citizens?'".i.6 April 2021.
- ^"Rosie Jones: 'I hope disabled people can see me on TV and think: if she can do it, I can do it'".The Guardian.30 March 2021.
- ^abcStrudwick, Patrick (19 July 2023)."Rosie Jones: Backlash from my documentary Am I A R*tard? has hit harder coming from disabled people".i.Retrieved26 July2023.