Jonathan Wilkes

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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 best 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 released "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 Show, as well as appearing in Mother Goose - a record-breaking pantomime at The Regent Theatre, in his home town of Stoke-on-Trent. Following record-breaking sales for Mother Goose, Jonathan returned to The Regent Theatre the following year (2006-2007) to appear in Aladdin. Sales for this pantomime surpassed even the previous year and it became the biggest selling show ever at the Stoke-on-Trent theatre.^{[citation needed]}

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 had 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 as well as playing for the legendary Silverstone FC. He then give up football in pursuit of a career in the arts.

Wilkes appeared in Sky One's The Match and, with Robbie Williams, fronted Soccer Aid, a celebrity football match in the run up to the 2006 World Cup, with the proceeds going to UNICEF.

Jonathan married Nicky Wheeler, a dancer, in January 2004 in LA. They have one child, Mickey, born in 2006.