Nigel Havers did nothing to encourage the comic's ambitions

Jack Whitehall has had a pretty good comedy career – but with no help from his godfather, Nigel Havers.

The actor has confessed that he was hopeless at encouraging the young comic to pursue his dreams, admitting that he told the youngster: 'Don’t be ridiculous' when he said he wanted to be a stand-up. 

The young Jack – whose father Michael was Havers' agent – did manage to drag his godfather to an early gig in Putney,  South London, and afterwards asked his famous family friend what he thought.

'I really think you should be a doctor or a lawyer,' said Havers. 'Don’t do that, whatever you do.'

The actor admitted he was 'useless' as a godfather in comments to Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast, picked up by The Times's diary column today.

Published: 29 Mar 2025