Jonathan Wilkes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jonathan Wilkes (born August 1, 1978 in Baddeley Green, Stoke-on-Trent) is an English television presenter, actor and musician. Wilkes is arguably as famous as a celebrity footballer as he is for his performance skills, in addition to being well-known as a friend of singer Robbie Williams.

[edit] Performing arts

Wilkes' television career was launched after he won the Cameron Mackintosh Young Entertainer of the Year award in 1996. This led to television work on the BBC Choice (now BBC Three) programme Hype. He soon signed a three-year contract with ITV, fronting You've Been Framed for one series and Love on a Saturday Night. Also a singer, he signed to Innocent Records in 2001 and had a hit, "Just Another Day", which charted in many European countries. Recently, he has turned to stage acting and has appeared in recent theatre productions of Grease and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well as appearing in Mother Goose - a record-breaking pantomime at The Regent Theatre, in his home town of Stoke-on-Trent. He has since signed on to do Aladdin for the 2006-2007 pantomime season.

He joined Robbie Williams on his 2006 Close Encounters Tour, singing two songs (Me and My Shadow and Strong), as well as playing a game of football with Robbie on stage.

[edit] Footballing exploits

Wilkes has ambitions to become a footballer in his teenage years, and was a part of Everton F.C.'s youth setup in 1993. He went on to trials at Crewe and Chester before giving up football in pursuit of a career in the arts.

Wilkes was coaxed back into the game when appearing for a team of celebrities Sky One's The Match, scoring a memorable goal by lobbing Peter Bonetti from 30 yards out late in the game. He has captained the Celebrities team in both editions of the show. Capitalising on this, Wilkes, along with flat-mate and close friend Robbie Williams, fronted Soccer Aid, a celebrity football match in the run up to the 2006 World Cup, with the proceeds going to UNICEF. Wilkes scored another memorable goal, this time for England against a Rest of the World XI, earning the 'man of the match' award along with high praise for his footballing skills.