Johnny Vaughan
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Randall Vaughan (born 16 July 1966) is an English
broadcaster
and journalist
. Vaughan has become well known as a television
and radio
personality and has also built a reputation as a film critic
. He co-presented Capital Breakfast alongside Lisa Snowdon
on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011. He also writes a weekly column in The Sun
newspaper reviewing recent film releases.
, North London
to an engineer
father, Randall, and a psychotherapist mother, Fay.
, London
, followed by two independent boarding schools: Bramcote School near Nottingham
and Uppingham School
in Rutland
. During his school years he showed a talent for comedy, playing the violin and singing.
. On leaving school, Vaughan moved to London and originally wanted to become a writer. He ended up with a variety of jobs ranging from a grill chef to even starting his own business selling boxer shorts.
In 1988, aged 21, Vaughan was arrested for trying to sell £15,000 of cocaine
to undercover police officers in a hotel on the M1 motorway
near Northampton
. He was found guilty of being "concerned with the supply" of class A drugs (namely cocaine) and sentenced to 4 years in Stocken Prison
, of which he served 25 months (2 years and a month). In the immediate aftermath of his initial success with Moviewatch, Vaughan claimed in interviews, including one with Mayfair magazine that he had been incarcerated for the distribution of pornographic videotapes.
Latterly, Vaughan recalled the event in an interview with the Daily Telegraph:
It was during his time in prison that Vaughan began to take an interest in literature
and philosophy
. On release from prison, Vaughan decided to turn his life around and started a job working as a journalist for the Peterborough Herald newspaper, reporting on legal cases in his column, Johnny Vaughan in the Courts.
. He started his television career presenting the movie review show Moviewatch
, as well as the music show Naked City and his own chat show Here's Johnny.
from 1997 until 2001, forming a successful partnership with former programme weather girl
and actress Denise van Outen
from 1998. Van Outen's cheeky "Essex Girl
" personality played off well against the quick wit of Vaughan, and together they recovered audience figures to record levels. One groundbreaking feature of Johnny's presentation was the way in which he frequently interacted with the various cameramen and technical people in the studio, turning some of them into popular characters in their own right. Also notable was that each programme finished with a zany situational competition in which Johnny revealed considerable talent as a character actor. In parallel with The Big Breakfast Vaughan presented another movie show, The Johnny Vaughan Film Show.
Van Outen left to pursue her acting career at the end of 1998. The partnership with replacement model Kelly Brook
failed to reproduce the chemistry between Vaughan and Van Outen, and audience figures "plummeted". Brook was replaced by Liza Tarbuck
and Van Outen returned again as main female presenter in 2000 but the show was unrevivable. Johnny and Denise left the show in January 2001 after both their contracts had run out.
to present a late-night talk show
, Johnny Vaughan Tonight in the same vein of American shows by Johnny Carson
and Jay Leno
. Viewing figures were good (the show regularly received 2.5 - 3 million viewers a night) and commentators suggested that the format was best suited to the free-wheeling Vaughan. However, a highly promoted BBC Two
sitcom vehicle 'Orrible
, which Vaughan wrote and acted in was poorly received by the critics. Far from being the huge hit that was hoped, the show lost 40% of its audience over its first three episodes and was not renewed for a second series or even repeated.
In October 2003 he devised and produced and was the first presenter of BBC Radio Five Live
's
Fighting Talk
, a sport related comedy show currently presented by Colin Murray
. Further television appearances ensued, when Vaughan tried a revival of his on screen relationship with Van Outen in 2004 in the BBC's Saturday night family show Passport to Paradise, which lasted for only one series.
as the presenter of Capital Breakfast on 95.8 Capital FM, which saw the listening figures for his show drop from over 1.3 million to 980,000 listeners, according to official RAJAR
statistics.
In January 2008, Vaughan was reunited with van Outen when she joined him on the breakfast show in a move to boost listening figures, but she left the show half-way through her contract in June 2008.
In August 2008, Van Outen was replaced by model Lisa Snowdon
. The show then rose in the ratings, taking the top spot of London's breakfast radio chart in October 2008, with an average weekly audience of 862,000 listeners.
On 18 November 2011, Johnny has stepped down as host of Capital Breakfast. This trended on twitter for over 6 hours in the UK. The official Johnny and Lisa twitter account read "After nearly 8 brilliant years, Johnny has stepped down as host of the 95.8 Capital FM breakfast show." He said ""I've loved this job but after years of getting up in the middle of the night, I think it's right to hand over the mic to someone else."
, which aired in 2004 on MTV
and later on Five. Vaughan has also been heavily involved with telethon charity drives such as Children in Need
,
Comic Relief and Sport Relief
. In 2004 the BBC ran "a search to find the nation's best-loved sitcom" with a format that aped that of the 100 Greatest Britons
. One celebrity championed each of the top ten sitcoms, presenting an hour-long special on why their favourite was the best. Vaughan was the presenter of the segment on prison-based sitcom Porridge
.
In 2005, Vaughan became the host of the American
reality
/game show
My Kind of Town
on ABC
. The show was cancelled after four episodes. He was also featured in the 2005 film, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
, playing an awards ceremony host.
Vaughan presented the controversial hoax
"reality"
show Space Cadets for Channel 4
. In June 2006, Vaughan appeared as a guest on TV Heaven, Telly Hell
.
He was a team captain on the Channel 4
comedy panel show Best of the Worst
that also features team captain David Mitchell
(Peep Show), and chairman Alexander Armstrong
. The show appears not to have been renewed for a second series.
In December 2006, he made a guest appearance on the BBC comedy panel game QI
(Series D, Episode 10, "Divination"). Vaughan has his own television production company, World's End.
In 2011, Vaughan has appeared in the TV show 'MudMen' on History Channel. Johnny Vaughan, accompanied with Steve Brooker, venture out into the Thames shoreline in search of old, hidden artifacts and treasures.
performed at their wedding. They live in Wandsworth
, South London
with their bulldog
Harvey-(died) and now have another bulldog named Jeff and their two children, Tabitha (born 2000), and Rafferty (born 2003). Vaughan's father-in-law is Nick Davies
, once foreign editor of the Daily Mirror.
In March 1999, in preparation for his marriage to Davies, Vaughan was received into the Catholic Church at Westminster Cathedral
.
Vaughan is a big fan of cars and currently owns a Maserati
3200 GT
. An avid supporter of Chelsea FC
, he travelled to Sweden
to see Chelsea win the 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, and spent the next day broadcasting live on The Big Breakfast with images and details of the big moments in the match, with input from his friends. He also has presented Chelsea FC's coverage of their public training days in 2008.
He has had thinning hair for a number of years, and on the television show Best of the Worst
expressed jealousy of those with "long fly away locks." In July 2008, he shaved whatever was left to raise money for the Capital Radio
charity, Help a Capital Child, of which he is an Ambassador.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. Vaughan has become well known as a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
personality and has also built a reputation as a film critic
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
. He co-presented Capital Breakfast alongside Lisa Snowdon
Lisa Snowdon
Lisa Snowdon is an English fashion model, television personality and presenter. She was the host of the reality television show Britain's Next Top Model from 2006 until 2009...
on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011. He also writes a weekly column in The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
newspaper reviewing recent film releases.
Early life
Vaughan was born in BarnetBarnet
High Barnet or Chipping Barnet is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, North London, England. It is a suburban development built around a twelfth-century settlement and is located north north-west of Charing Cross. Its name is often abbreviated to Barnet, which is also the name of the London...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
to an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
father, Randall, and a psychotherapist mother, Fay.
Education
Vaughan was educated at a state school, St Andrew's Primary School in TotteridgeTotteridge
Totteridge is an area of the London Borough of Barnet in north London, England. It is a mixture of suburban development and open land situated 8.20 miles north north-west of Charing Cross....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, followed by two independent boarding schools: Bramcote School near Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and Uppingham School
Uppingham School
Uppingham School is a co-educational independent school of the English public school tradition, situated in the small town of Uppingham in Rutland, England...
in Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
. During his school years he showed a talent for comedy, playing the violin and singing.
Life and career
When Vaughan was 16 years old, his father went bankruptBankruptcy in the United Kingdom
Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom does not have a singular law. There is one system for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland.Across the United Kingdom, bankruptcy refers only to insolvency of individuals and partnerships...
. On leaving school, Vaughan moved to London and originally wanted to become a writer. He ended up with a variety of jobs ranging from a grill chef to even starting his own business selling boxer shorts.
In 1988, aged 21, Vaughan was arrested for trying to sell £15,000 of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
to undercover police officers in a hotel on the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
near Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
. He was found guilty of being "concerned with the supply" of class A drugs (namely cocaine) and sentenced to 4 years in Stocken Prison
Stocken (HM Prison)
HM Prison Stocken is a Category C men's prison located in the parish of Stretton, in the county of Rutland, England. Stocken is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
, of which he served 25 months (2 years and a month). In the immediate aftermath of his initial success with Moviewatch, Vaughan claimed in interviews, including one with Mayfair magazine that he had been incarcerated for the distribution of pornographic videotapes.
Latterly, Vaughan recalled the event in an interview with the Daily Telegraph:
One night, an old schoolfriend, a student, called and asked him if he had any drug connections; the friend had met somebody who wanted to know. (The somebody, it turned out, was a drug dealer who had been arrested and was now working for the police.) No, said Vaughan, he didn't.
'The next day,' Vaughan says, 'I do bump into someone. He calls me and says, "Tell your friend it's all sorted."?' Vaughan arranged the meeting at a service station on the M1, and went there to introduce the protagonists. He was slammed against a wall by a policeman who asked him how old he was. When Vaughan said 21, the cop said, "You won't be seeing sunshine again until you're 36."
It was during his time in prison that Vaughan began to take an interest in literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. On release from prison, Vaughan decided to turn his life around and started a job working as a journalist for the Peterborough Herald newspaper, reporting on legal cases in his column, Johnny Vaughan in the Courts.
Early career
His big break came in 1993 when he visited a friend's production company and through a chance meeting was offered a job with Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. He started his television career presenting the movie review show Moviewatch
Moviewatch (Channel 4 programme)
Moviewatch was a film review television programme broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. It ran from 1993 to 1997.The programme was hosted by Johnny Vaughan. It was broadcast weekly. Each week four members of the public would watch four forthcoming films. They would then discuss each film in turn, along...
, as well as the music show Naked City and his own chat show Here's Johnny.
The Big Breakfast
Channel 4 producers decided he was a natural in front of the camera, and in light of ailing viewing figures he was chosen to front The Big BreakfastThe Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
from 1997 until 2001, forming a successful partnership with former programme weather girl
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
and actress Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...
from 1998. Van Outen's cheeky "Essex Girl
Essex girl
An Essex girl is a pejorative stereotype in the United Kingdom of a female who is said to be promiscuous and unintelligent, characteristics jocularly attributed to women from Essex. It is applied widely throughout the country and has gained popularity over time, dating from the 1980s and 1990s...
" personality played off well against the quick wit of Vaughan, and together they recovered audience figures to record levels. One groundbreaking feature of Johnny's presentation was the way in which he frequently interacted with the various cameramen and technical people in the studio, turning some of them into popular characters in their own right. Also notable was that each programme finished with a zany situational competition in which Johnny revealed considerable talent as a character actor. In parallel with The Big Breakfast Vaughan presented another movie show, The Johnny Vaughan Film Show.
Van Outen left to pursue her acting career at the end of 1998. The partnership with replacement model Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook is an English model, actress, entrepreneur, television presenter and Playboy model.-Early life:...
failed to reproduce the chemistry between Vaughan and Van Outen, and audience figures "plummeted". Brook was replaced by Liza Tarbuck
Liza Tarbuck
Liza Tarbuck is an English actress and television and radio presenter, and daughter of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck.She trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA graduating in 1986 alongside Clive Owen, Rebecca Pidgeon and Serena Harragin.-Acting:...
and Van Outen returned again as main female presenter in 2000 but the show was unrevivable. Johnny and Denise left the show in January 2001 after both their contracts had run out.
Move to the BBC
In 2001, the BBC reportedly paid Vaughan £2.5 million to leave Channel 4. He transferred to the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
to present a late-night talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
, Johnny Vaughan Tonight in the same vein of American shows by Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
and Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
. Viewing figures were good (the show regularly received 2.5 - 3 million viewers a night) and commentators suggested that the format was best suited to the free-wheeling Vaughan. However, a highly promoted BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
sitcom vehicle 'Orrible
'Orrible
'Orrible is a British television sitcom produced by the BBC. Broadcast in 2001, it was written by and starred Johnny Vaughan. Vaughan appears as a taxi-cab driver and wannabe small time criminal in Acton . Despite the BBC having high hopes and heavily promoting the series, it was panned by critics...
, which Vaughan wrote and acted in was poorly received by the critics. Far from being the huge hit that was hoped, the show lost 40% of its audience over its first three episodes and was not renewed for a second series or even repeated.
In October 2003 he devised and produced and was the first presenter of BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
's
Fighting Talk
Fighting Talk
Fighting Talk is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. Its first series aired in October 2003, and was presented by Johnny Vaughan. The second series featured Christian O'Connell. It is currently hosted by Colin Murray and is aired on Saturday...
, a sport related comedy show currently presented by Colin Murray
Colin Murray
Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...
. Further television appearances ensued, when Vaughan tried a revival of his on screen relationship with Van Outen in 2004 in the BBC's Saturday night family show Passport to Paradise, which lasted for only one series.
95.8 Capital FM
In April 2004 he moved to radio and returned to the "zoo" format, when he replaced Chris TarrantChris Tarrant
Christopher John "Chris" Tarrant, OBE is an English radio and television broadcaster, now best known for hosting the first version of the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the United Kingdom and later Ireland, as the two national versions of the show merged in 2002.Chris...
as the presenter of Capital Breakfast on 95.8 Capital FM, which saw the listening figures for his show drop from over 1.3 million to 980,000 listeners, according to official RAJAR
RAJAR
RAJAR was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the RadioCentre...
statistics.
In January 2008, Vaughan was reunited with van Outen when she joined him on the breakfast show in a move to boost listening figures, but she left the show half-way through her contract in June 2008.
In August 2008, Van Outen was replaced by model Lisa Snowdon
Lisa Snowdon
Lisa Snowdon is an English fashion model, television personality and presenter. She was the host of the reality television show Britain's Next Top Model from 2006 until 2009...
. The show then rose in the ratings, taking the top spot of London's breakfast radio chart in October 2008, with an average weekly audience of 862,000 listeners.
On 18 November 2011, Johnny has stepped down as host of Capital Breakfast. This trended on twitter for over 6 hours in the UK. The official Johnny and Lisa twitter account read "After nearly 8 brilliant years, Johnny has stepped down as host of the 95.8 Capital FM breakfast show." He said ""I've loved this job but after years of getting up in the middle of the night, I think it's right to hand over the mic to someone else."
Other Work
Vaughan wrote the UK's first "dope opera", Top BuzzerTop Buzzer
Top Buzzer was a British sitcom written by Johnny Vaughan, styled as television's first ever "dope opera". It was shown on MTV in 2004 and later repeated on Five. It was released on DVD on 24 October 2005. It revolves around two small-time cannabis dealers, Lee and Sticky , and their customers...
, which aired in 2004 on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and later on Five. Vaughan has also been heavily involved with telethon charity drives such as Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
,
Comic Relief and Sport Relief
Sport Relief
Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries...
. In 2004 the BBC ran "a search to find the nation's best-loved sitcom" with a format that aped that of the 100 Greatest Britons
100 Greatest Britons
100 Greatest Britons was broadcast in 2002 by the BBC. The programme was the result of a vote conducted to determine whom the United Kingdom public considers the greatest British people in history. The series, Great Britons, included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further...
. One celebrity championed each of the top ten sitcoms, presenting an hour-long special on why their favourite was the best. Vaughan was the presenter of the segment on prison-based sitcom Porridge
Porridge (TV series)
Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland...
.
In 2005, Vaughan became the host of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
reality
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
/game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town is an American television game show that premiered on August 14, 2005 on ABC. Part variety show, part game show, the series brings 200 people from a small town in the United States to New York City to compete for prizes and participate in games and assorted gags...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The show was cancelled after four episodes. He was also featured in the 2005 film, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is the 2005 sequel to the 1999 film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, from Happy Madison Productions. Rob Schneider returns in the role of a male prostitute Deuce Bigalow who visits his former pimp T.J...
, playing an awards ceremony host.
Vaughan presented the controversial hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
"reality"
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show Space Cadets for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. In June 2006, Vaughan appeared as a guest on TV Heaven, Telly Hell
TV Heaven, Telly Hell
TV Heaven, Telly Hell is a comedy television show on Channel 4, presented and produced by Sean Lock. The format is similar to Room 101, with guests discussing their likes and dislikes of items on television....
.
He was a team captain on the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
comedy panel show Best of the Worst
Best of the Worst (UK)
Best of the Worst was a British panel game, which was broadcast on Channel 4 in 2006. The show was created by Giles Pilbrow and Colin Swash....
that also features team captain David Mitchell
David Mitchell (actor)
David James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
(Peep Show), and chairman Alexander Armstrong
Alexander Armstrong (comedian)
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius...
. The show appears not to have been renewed for a second series.
In December 2006, he made a guest appearance on the BBC comedy panel game QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...
(Series D, Episode 10, "Divination"). Vaughan has his own television production company, World's End.
In 2011, Vaughan has appeared in the TV show 'MudMen' on History Channel. Johnny Vaughan, accompanied with Steve Brooker, venture out into the Thames shoreline in search of old, hidden artifacts and treasures.
Personal life
He married costume designer Antonia Davies in August 1999. The couple met when Vaughan was working in a video store at age 19. Elvis CostelloElvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
performed at their wedding. They live in Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
, South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
with their bulldog
Bulldog
Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
Harvey-(died) and now have another bulldog named Jeff and their two children, Tabitha (born 2000), and Rafferty (born 2003). Vaughan's father-in-law is Nick Davies
Nicholas Davies
Nicholas Davies, also known as Nick Davies, is a journalist and author, formerly foreign editor at the Daily Mirror. He was closely associated with Robert Maxwell, and was the centre of considerable UK media attention in 1991 after he was accused in Seymour Hersh's book The Samson Option of...
, once foreign editor of the Daily Mirror.
In March 1999, in preparation for his marriage to Davies, Vaughan was received into the Catholic Church at Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
.
Vaughan is a big fan of cars and currently owns a Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
3200 GT
Maserati 3200 GT
The Maserati 3200 GT is an automobile produced by Maserati from 1998 to 2001. The luxury coupé was styled by Italdesign, whose founder and head Giorgetto Giugiaro previously designed, among others, the Ghibli, Bora and Merak....
. An avid supporter of Chelsea FC
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, he travelled to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
to see Chelsea win the 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, and spent the next day broadcasting live on The Big Breakfast with images and details of the big moments in the match, with input from his friends. He also has presented Chelsea FC's coverage of their public training days in 2008.
He has had thinning hair for a number of years, and on the television show Best of the Worst
Best of the Worst (UK)
Best of the Worst was a British panel game, which was broadcast on Channel 4 in 2006. The show was created by Giles Pilbrow and Colin Swash....
expressed jealousy of those with "long fly away locks." In July 2008, he shaved whatever was left to raise money for the Capital Radio
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
charity, Help a Capital Child, of which he is an Ambassador.