Martin Christopher Jarvis (born 20 April 1969)[1] is an English actor, presenter and writer who has appeared mainly on children's television for the BBC since 1992, apart from 2000 to 2002 when he was working with ITV and Channel 4. In 2019, he started a radio station for children called Little Radio.
Chris Jarvis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Martin Christopher Jarvis 20 April 1969 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, broadcaster, director, impressionist, presenter, writer |
Career edit
Early career edit
Jarvis made his name in the early 1990s on Children's BBC, presenting from the "Broom Cupboard" alongside Zoe Ball and Josie d'Arby[2] as well as hosting his own shows like Look Sharp.[3] Chris wrote a lot of material for Children's BBC himself (including the mini soap opera Wood Lane TV) and created several memorable characters including "The Anorak".
In 1997, Jarvis was part of The Friday Zone[4] (which was broadcast on Friday afternoons on BBC One for most of the children's slot) with Debra Stephenson, Peter Simon, Dominic Wood, Steve Rock and Emma Lee. They released a single called "Glasses" as a spin-off from the programme, to raise money for Comic Relief.[5]
He then presented Fully Booked with Tim Vincent and Gail Porter for a few years.[6] He has appeared on many other TV shows including Short Change, Exclusive, Playdays and Soap Fever.[7]
CBeebies edit
Jarvis was one of the original lineup of CBeebies presenters,[8] alongside Pui Fan Lee, Sidney Sloane, and Sue Monroe every day. From March 2007 until his departure on 2 January 2009, he presented alongside Lee from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm with Discover and Do, then the Bedtime Hour from 6:00 pm and again on BBC Two in the mornings. He also starred in Step Inside as Mr Mopple and voiced characters in Underground Ernie. In 2009, he and Lee left the channel's main presentation to create Show Me Show Me.
Show Me Show Me is still broadcast on CBeebies today.[9] The first 40 half-hour episodes were broadcast on the CBeebies channel, BBC One and BBC Two from Monday 6 July 2009 every weekday at 10:00 am and 1:30 pm. Series 5 was filmed on location near Manchester in 2013.
Since 2010, Jarvis and Lee have toured the UK with The Chris and Pui Roadshow.[10]
Acting edit
As an actor Jarvis has appeared in The Demon Headmaster and ChuckleVision, and played Mr Mopple in early CBeebies story-telling programme Step Inside.[7] He also presented Maths Mansion.
Music edit
Jarvis hosts family concerts for the London Philharmonic Orchestra LPO and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.[11]
Pantomime edit
Jarvis has appeared in pantomimes professionally every year since 1995, and prior to that had performed in several as an amateur.[12] Since 2001, he has written and directed many of these pantomimes as well.[4]
- 1995 'Aladdin' Guildford – Bernie Nolan, Clare Buckfield, Jack Douglas, Richard Gibson,
- 1996 'Aladdin' Richmond – Bonnie Langford, Bernard Cribbins, Terrence Hardiman
- 1997 'Jack & the Beanstalk' Bromley – Matthew Kelly, Vicki Michelle, Toyah Willcox, Robert Duncan,
- 1998 'Cinderella' Lewisham – Linda Robson, Femi Oke
- 1999 'Peter Pan' Reading – Derek Griffiths, Hilary O'Neil
- 2000 'Jack & the Beanstalk' Croydon – Kate Ritchie,
- 2001 'Cinderella' Malvern – Marti Webb, Nicholas Smith
- 2002 'Cinderella' Bournemouth – Ruth Madoc, Nicholas Smith
- 2003 'Cinderella' Basingstoke – Sarah Thomas, Michael Knowles
- 2004 'Jack & the Beanstalk' Bournemouth – Chris Ellison, Tom Owen, Jackie Piper
- 2005 'Aladdin' Bournemouth – Ray Meagher, Mark Squires
- 2006 'Snow White' Tunbridge Wells – Carol Harrison, Richard Calkin
- 2007 'Snow White' Basingstoke – Carol Harrison, Tom Owen
- 2008 'Cinderella' Swansea – Su Pollard, Sarah Thomas[13]
- 2009 'Snow White' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with Su Pollard[14][15]
- 2010 'Cinderella' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with Amanda Barrie.[15]
- 2011 'Jack & the Beanstalk' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with Debra Stephenson, Brian Capron, Nick Wilton & Kate Weston[15]
- 2012 'Sleeping Beauty' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with Su Pollard.
- 2013 'Aladdin' at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth with Scott Maslen, Bobby Crush, Nicholas Khan, Jennifer Saayeng, Richard Vincent, Jamie-Lee Mason
- 2014 'Snow White' Richmond Theatre – Jerry Hall
- 2015 'Cinderella' Richmond Theatre
- 2016 'Sleeping Beauty' Richmond Theatre
- 2017 'Jack and the Beanstalk' Wycombe Swan Theatre with Simon Webbe and Ashleigh Butler
- 2018 'Dick Whittington' Poole Lighthouse with Richard Gibson
- 2019 'Sleeping Beauty' Swindon Wyvern with Michelle Collins
- 2020 Puss in Boots Tiring Production with Suzanne Shaw
- 2021 'Beauty & the Beast' Poole Lighthouse
- 2022 'Cinderella' Poole Lighthouse with Tyger Drew-Honey, Alim Jadavji, Andrew Pollard, Charlotte Wood and Lauren Azania
Jarvis has been involved with several televised pantomimes on CBeebies, including 2012's Jack and the beanstalk which he wrote and starred Dame Trot, 2011's Strictly Cinderella which he co-wrote, and starred in as Baron Hardup,[16] 2010's Aladdin (in which he plays Emperor Sho Mee)[12] and 2009's Jack & Jill (which he wrote and appeared in a cameo).[17][18]
Personal life edit
Jarvis grew up in Billericay and Brentwood.[19][better source needed]
He is the godfather to one of fellow CBeebies presenter Pui Fan Lee's sons.[20][better source needed]
Controversy edit
On 7 September 2016, Jarvis was alleged to have used profanity during a segment on Show Me Show Me whilst singing a song about kites alongside Pui Fan Lee, sparking outrage among parents and resulting in the CBeebies Facebook page releasing a statement saying "It's kite everyone, kite! We make shows for your little ones so it's always going to be kite."[21]
Filmography edit
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Broom Cupboard | 1993–1997 | Presenter | |
| Look Sharp | 1994–1995 | 2 series | |
| The Anorak | 1994–1996 | Actor | |
| Get Your Own Back | 1995 | Himself | |
| Playdays | Presenter | 2 series | |
| Wood Lane TV | 1995–1997 | Actor / Writer | |
| To Me, To You! | 1996, 1998 | Himself | |
| The Demon Headmaster Takes Over TV | 1997 | TV film, played a fictionalised version of himself | |
| The Friday Zone | Presenter | CBBC | |
| The Demon Headmaster | 1998 | Your Wildest Dreams host | |
| Mr Wymi | Hacker tracker | ||
| ChuckleVision | Head page | ||
| Short Change | Presenter | ||
| Fully Booked | 1998–2000 | 2 series | |
| ChuckleVision Comic Relief Special | 1999 | Music Mogul | |
| Night Fever | Himself | ||
| Dream Street | 1999–2002 | Hot Rodney, Amber & Scarlet | |
| Catchphrase | 2000–2001 | Himself | Voice-over |
| Jungle Run | 2001–2002 | Presenter | |
| Maths Mansion | 2001–2003 | Sad Man / Bad Man | |
| Step Inside | 2002 | Mr Mopple | |
| CBeebies | 2002–2009 | Presenter | Presented links between programmes |
| Planet Cook | 2004–2005 | ||
| Underground Ernie | 2006 | Circle & City | Voice role |
| Show Me Show Me | 2009–2015 | Presenter | |
| Justin's House | 2023 | Robert The Robot |
References edit
- ^ "Jarvis, Chris". Showreel. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- ^ "BBC – Archive – The CBBC Broom Cupboard – In the Broom Cupboard". BBC. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ "Look Sharp – UKGameshows". ukgameshows.com.
- ^ a b "DS Icon: Chris Jarvis". Digital Spy. 29 January 2010.
- ^ spacepootv (19 February 2009). "CBBC Comic Relief '97 – Chris Jarvis – Glasses". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Saturday Mornings – Summer Replacements Archived 4 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Chris Jarvis". IMDb.
- ^ "reasons to love cbeebies (part one)".
- ^ "BBC – CBeebies – Page not found". Archived from the original on 24 June 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ "Chris Jarvis and Pui Fan Lee". chrisandpui.com.
- ^ "BBC Orchestras and Choirs". BBC Music Events.
- ^ a b "BBC – Press Office – Aladdin: Chris Jarvis plays Emperor Show Mee". BBC.
- ^ sarahjaynecooper (24 December 2008). "Cinderella 08/09 – Swansea Grand Theatre". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Bournemouth Echo – Su Pollard and Chris Jarvis launch Bournemouth panto Tuesday 6 October 2009
- ^ a b c Bournemouth International Centre – Jack and the Beanstalk Archived 3 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Strictly Cinderella, CBeebies Christmas Panto – BBC – CBeebies". BBC.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Will; Skegg, Martin; Nicholson, Rebecca (17 December 2009). "CBeebies Christmas Pantomime – In the Spirit of Diaghilev – Heston's Christmas Feast – Comedy Showcase: Girl Friday – Watch this". The Guardian.
- ^ "BBC – Press Office – Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 50 The CBeebies Christmas Pantomime Feature".
- ^ Jarvis, Chris. "@jemjemz I'm originally from Essex. Grew up in Billericay and Brentwood. I shall pass on your compliment to Pui Fan – thank you".
- ^ Jarvis, Chris. "@SarahLLockley Pui has a fantastic son already – a born entertainer if ever I met one :) (proud Godfather)".
- ^ Metro.co.uk, Katie Baillie for (8 September 2016). "Did CBeebies' Chris Jarvis just drop the C-word?". Metro. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
