Manford is The One

Jason to replace Adrian Chiles

Jason Manford is to replace Adrian Chiles on The One Show, the BBC has announced.

The comic, who turned 29 yesterday, will join Christine Bleakley on the early-evening magazine show from July. He will be on the shows Mondays to Thursdays, with Chris Evans covering Fridays.

Manford has been described as a ‘surprise choice’ for the position against such competition as Andrew Castle, Matt Baker and Richard Madeley. He joked that his dad put £10 at 500/1 that he would get the job.

But it will be a huge boost for his profile, although he is already well-known as a team captain on Channel 4’s 8 Out Of 10 Cats, and for hosting ITV’s Comedy Rocks.

Writing on his Twitter account, Manford said: ‘Fingers crossed I don’t spoil it.’

One Show editor Sandy Smith said ‘Jason's strength is his likeability, his natural warmth and his quick wit. He's intelligent and curious about the sort of subjects discussed every day on The One Show and is equally at home with the light-hearted and serious issues.’

Manford - who earlier this year joked that he failed to land a job on London’s Capital Radio because he was ‘too Northern’ for station bosse – will be rescheduling the weekday tour dates he had planned for later this year.

Adrian Chiles struck a reported £6million, four-year deal with ITV after quitting The One Show last month.

Manford also announced on Twitter yesterday that his is due to be a father again in December. He is already the father of nine-month-old twin daughters.