1Born Jonathan Stephen Ross in London on November 17 1960, he is one of five boys (including fellow presenter Paul Ross) and a girl. Their mother Martha was an extra on EastEnders for 20 years until she told Paul the Christmas storyline and he leaked it on his radio show.
2 He took a degree in East European History from the University College London before going into television as a Channel 4 researcher. His first TV appearance was an extra in a 1981 episode of It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum, but his first show came in 1987 with The Last Resort With Jonathan Ross.
3His outspoken style has always attracted complaints. Senior Tories called for him to be sacked when he asked David Cameron sexual questions about Margaret Thatcher. He suggested people living on council estates should be banned from giving birth, and then there were his offensive messages on Andrew Sach’s answerphone, which prompted 38,000 complaints and led to a three-month suspension.
4He married Jane Goldman, 10 years his junior, in 1988 when she was 18. They have three children – Betty Kitten, Harvey Kirby and Honey Kinny.
5 Despite his inability to pronounce the letter R, he’s been voted Sexiest Male Voice in UK radio. His favourite films include Duck Soup, Blade Runner and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, while his favourite artists are David Bowie, ELO and punk rockers.
6He is paid an estimated £6 million a year by the BBC to host Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, Film 2010 and his Radio 2 show. Of his job as a film critic, he’s said “I’d rather chew my own arm off than sit through something as putrid as Pearl Harbor” and “I suspect I’m the only critic in the country who’s a fully paid-up member of the Adam Sandler Fan Club”.
7 He shares his name with a 19th century US Senator and an Australian Rules footballer.
