Variously a chat-show host, comedian, compere and radio
DJ.
His public career started when as a researcher for Channel 4 television in the UK he pitched to them the idea of a Letterman style chat-show for a younger and less sedate audience than had hitherto been catered for on British TV. Channel 4 said "OK, go do it" and with the help of others he set up a production company (Channel X) to do just that. When time for the first programme to go out came around early in 1987, they still did not have a host, so Ross did it himself. "The Last Resort" was a roaring success, and despite a few ups and downs he has remained in the public eye ever since. He has recently returned to this format with "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" on the BBC, aided and abetted by his radio producer/sidekick/straight man Andy Davies.
In the way that the "alternative" comedians overthrew the old order, Ross was one of a new breed of media personality with a more irreverent attitude to the whole business.
According to his entry on the BBC's website:
Jonathan lives in North London with his wife Jane Goldman, their three children and a menagerie of pets including a dog, cat, iguana, two salamanders, 2 chinchillas and a number of ferrets - he hopes to get a fruit bat soon.