TV

Jimmy Carr on TV

Since first appearing on UK Linear TV, way back in the year 2000, Jimmy Carr has built up a massive body of work and, especially for new fans, the first half of this (lengthy) page is a list of his major show successes (as a host, co-host, writer and/or judge).

The content in the second half then has mentions of many of his other TV appearances – which will also give you an idea of the types of TV he’s made both in and outside of the UK.

All told I estimate that his actual (initial) total broadcast hours (on UK TV alone) is currently around 900+ hours!!! That is 900+ hours of a final TV product, shown for the first time.

That’s not including repeats (either on the same channel or repeated on another channel) or clip shows or versions shown in other countries or YouTube output. Or Radio / Podcast appearances. In the UK you can look at the TV scheduling any night of the week and expect to see 2-3 of his shows, somewhere in the listings.

Plus, that doesn’t take into account how many additional hours (per show) were taken up by writing, travelling to the studio, hair / make up, rehearsals, re-takes etc.

As well as working on all of these shows he also managed to do his day job – which involves 250+ gigs a year, covering 50+ countries.

Pilots

Not all shows make it into production and Jimmy has made a handful of pilots, over the years, that have not progressed to become commissioned shows.

You can see details of pilot shows here.

Early 2000’s – Narrator / Presenter

In the early 2000’s, Jimmy was the presenter on a number of C4 shows based on viewer polls, with names like 100 Greatest Cartoons, 100 Greatest Pop Videos etc. We had a lot of those, in the UK, around that time… See here and the listing below.

2002-3 – Your Face or Mine (1)

This first version of YFOM was Jimmy co-hosting with June Sarpong (45 episodes across 2 series). See here.

2003-4 – Distraction UK

Jimmy hosted 16 episodes of Distraction UK. See more here.

2003 to Present – QI

From first appearing on Arthropods in 2003 (to the end of series W, in 2026) Jimmy is 3rd in the list of “most QI appearances” (as a panellist) with a whopping 44 episodes. QI related posts – see here.

2004 to Present – Big Fat Quiz

Since 2004 C4 has given us Christmas / New Year gifts of various iterations of Big Fat Quiz of the Year, Big Fat Quiz of Everything – plus quizzes “of the 80s / 90s / 00s / Decade / Sport / Telly”. To date he has hosted 42 of these 2 hour shows.

Full overview is here.

2005 – The Friday Night Project

Co-host on 8 shows in Series 1 and then he moved on to front shows of his own. See more here.

2005-6 – Distraction US

Jimmy hosted a further 28 episodes of Distraction, made in (and for) the USA. See more here.

2005-20 – 8 Out of 10 Cats

Hosted by Jimmy this show had 22 series (not including “best bits” and unseen compilations) which was a total of 205 shows. For more info see the series list here.

2008 – Commercial Breakdown

A UK series that had been running since 1989, with various presenters, Jimmy took the helm for 8 episodes in 2008 (looking at adverts from around the world). See here.

2010-11 – A Comedy Roast

Host of a 5-part roast series – not something we do a lot of in the UK. See more here.

2011-13 – 10 O’clock live

33 shows across 3 series saw Jimmy co-hosting a political, satirical show with Charlie Brooker, Lauren Laverne and David Mitchell. See more here.

2012 to Present – 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

A spin off from 8 Out of 10 Cats, after a C4 “mash up” night, when various shows were mashed together to form something new. To date, without “best bits” compilations, we have just clocked up 177 shows.

For all posts relating to this show see the series list here.

2014-7 – Drunk History

Not a hosting role – but not many people noticed that Jimmy narrated 3 series (29 shows) of Drunk History UK. See more here.

2016 – Jimmy Carr & The Science of Laughter

A one-off Horizon special (looking at why we laugh) this was a kind of visual explanation of what he had written about in his book The Naked Jape. See here.

2017-9 – Your Face or Mine (2)

This reboot of YFOM was Jimmy co-hosting with Katherine Ryan and it ran for 66 shows, across 6 series. See more here.

2017-20 – Roast Battle UK

Comedy Central show with Jimmy the lead judge of a panel of 3 (which changed throughout the 4 series / 22 shows). Pairs of comedians battled with each other, using 5 jokes each. See more here.

2018 – The Fix (US)

A Netflix run of 8 shows, hosted by Jimmy, with comedians pairing up with D. L. Hughley and Katherine Ryan to “fix” problems. An attempt to export the wildly successful UK panel show format Stateside. See more here.

2019 – Fwends Reunited – The Inbetweeners

One off hosting of a show celebrating the film written by his long-time collaborator, Iain Morris. See here.

2020 – C4 Goes Back To…The 2010s

Presenter of one of 4 x 2-hour C4 shows looking back at what the 80s, 90s, 00s and 2010s were like. See here.

2021-2 – I Can See Your Voice

One of 4 Judges on this BBC, family orientated, Saturday night show (17 shows across 2 series). See more here.

2021 to Present – Jimmy Carr’s I Literally Just Told You

Host of (so far) 23 shows, across 4 series. Series details and S5 / 2026 Announcement – here.

2022 – Jimmy Carr Destroys Art

Controversial one-off show where a studio audience were given information about a problematic artists piece of art and then had to vote on whether to destroy it, because of its provenance. An exploration of the extremes of cancel culture. See more here.

2024 (rested) – Battle In The Box

Host of an 8-part series for U&Dave, where pairs of comedians were held in a “box” and had to try and win treats and gain floor space from the other pair. See more here.

2025 – Last One Laughing UK

Host of this massively successful Amazon Prime show, with S3 commissioned (here). See full details here.

2025 to Present – Jimmy Carr’s AITA (Am I The A**hole)

Host of this Comedy Central interpretation of a Reddit sub, S1 was 8 shows and a big success for Comedy Central (here).

Jimmy has been confirmed as S2 host and 8 shows will be recorded July 2026 (here).

See more show details here.

2025 – The Big Pitch with Jimmy Carr

Podcast with a difference – because it’s really a Netflix show, hosted by Jimmy, and on YouTube. See more here.

Honourable Mentions

There are a couple of shows that Jimmy has appeared on quite a lot, as a panellist:

  • A League of Their Own (ALOTO) – 26 – here
  • Celebrity Juice – 20 – here

The lists below are NOT everything that he’s been a part of as there are many shows that I’m still investigating. These lists are just to give you an idea of how many shows he’s worked on and to highlight the wide variety of formats. Quite a lot of them he has made multiple appearances on.

Some may have not been written about yet – but try out the search box for more details.

Chat / Breakfast / Magazine Type Shows

Appearances on chat shows (or magazine type / breakfast shows) used to be the way to promote your latest tour or DVD but, when you have an International audience to serve, Podcasts now give access to more eyeballs.

Before he really got into the podcast routine – these are some of the shows he has dropped into:

  • Alan Carr – Chatty Man
  • Alan Davies – As Yet Untitled
  • Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend
  • AM (NZ)
  • Big Narstie Show
  • Biz Zuu’s Big Eats
  • Breakfast (BBC)
  • Charlotte Church Show
  • Chelsea (USA)
  • Claudia Winkleman Show, The
  • Des O’Connor Tonight
  • Friday Night with Jonathan Ross / Jonathan Ross Show
  • GMTV
  • Good Morning Britain
  • Graham Norton Show
  • Ireland: am
  • John Bishop – In Conversation
  • Last Call with Carson Daly (USA)
  • Last Leg
  • Late Night with Conan O’Brien (USA)
  • Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan
  • Loose Women
  • Lorraine
  • One Show
  • Project TV (Aus)
  • Project TV (NZ)
  • Parkinson
  • Paul O’Grady Show
  • Richard and Judy
  • Russell Howard Hour
  • Sunday Brunch
  • Terry and Gaby show
  • This Morning
  • Today (Aus)
  • Today With Des and Mel
  • Tommy Tiernan Show
  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (USA)
  • Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (USA)
  • Tonight Show with Jay Leno (USA)
  • Weekly (the) with Charlie Pickering (Aus)

Panel or Game Shows / Charity

Another group of TV show category would be the ones with some sort of a competitive element – often trying to win money for a charity but sometimes just trying to beat other comics on the panel.

Including in this list are some of the charity broadcasts.

  • 5 Gold Rings
  • 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Deal or No Deal
  • Alexander Armstrong’s Big Ask
  • Ant & Dec’s Limitless win
  • Argumental
  • Big Brother Celebrity Hijack
  • Blankety Blank
  • C4 Comedy Gala
  • Celebrity Benchmark
  • Celebrity Catchphrase
  • Celebrity Deal or No Deal
  • Celebrity Fifteen to One
  • Celebrity Rebrand
  • Celebrity Squares
  • Chase (the) Celebrity Special
  • Child Genius v Celebrities
  • Chris Moyles Quiz Night
  • Chris Ramsey Show
  • Comic Relief – many skits and performances, over the years
  • Complaints Department
  • Countdown (daytime version)
  • Crackanory
  • Crouchy’s Year-Late Euros
  • Dave Gorman, Terms and Conditions Apply
  • Duck Quacks Don’t Echo
  • Have I Got News For You
  • Lip Sync Battle UK
  • Marriage Ref
  • Million Pound Drop Live
  • Never Mind The Buzzcocks
  • Panel (the) (Ire)
  • Pants On Fire
  • Play To The Whistle
  • Royal Variety Performance
  • Question Of Sport
  • Redknapp’s Big Night Out
  • Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains
  • Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive
  • Rolling In It
  • Room 101
  • Save Our Summer
  • Secret Policeman’s Ball
  • Shopping With Keith Lemon
  • Sport Relief
  • Stand Up To Cancer
  • There’s Something About Movies
  • This is My House
  • Through The Keyhole
  • Tipping Point (Lucky Stars)
  • TV Heaven Telly Hell
  • Unforgivable
  • Virtually Famous
  • Wall (the)
  • Wall of Fame
  • Was It Something I Said?
  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
  • Would I Lie To You?

Serious Topics / Documentary Type

As well as the Horizon / Destroys Art type shows Jimmy also contributed to or presented on:

  • Adam Smith: Father of the Fringe
  • Bob Monkhouse – a BAFTA tribute
  • Channel 4s Alternative Election Night
  • Call Your Mother (USA)
  • Cancelled
  • Culture Show: Edinburgh Show Part 3
  • History Of The Joke (USA)
  • Imagine: The Art of Standup
  • Question Time
  • The Comedy Story: The Birth of a Bit (USA)
  • Too Soon – Comedy After 911 (USA)

Stand Up / Comedy Awards / Sketch Shows

Shows relating to stand-up comedy or comedy / TV awards shows. Plus, a couple of other random “comedy” appearances on shows like Top Gear (which really needs a category all of its own).

  • 15 Years of Gags: Just For Laughs (Can)
  • All Access: Just For Laughs (Can)
  • All Star Wake Up Call, The
  • Back To School: Just For Laughs (Can)
  • Backstage with Katherine Ryan
  • Bo’ Selecta
  • Born Sloppy
  • Brit Awards Show
  • British Comedy Awards
  • Comedy Central Presents…Jimmy Carr
  • Comedy Central Roast of Kenny Kunene
  • Dawn French’s Boys Who Do Comedy
  • Does Doug Know?
  • Drunk Review
  • Frank Skinner Show
  • Funny as Hell: Just For Laughs (Can)
  • Funny Fortnight
  • Gadget Man
  • Grand Tour (the)
  • Green Room with Paul Provenza
  • Hotel GB
  • Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle (USA)
  • JFL XXX: The Ultimate Nasty Show (Can)
  • Keith Lemon Sketch Show
  • Live at The Apollo
  • Masters (the): Just For Laughs (Can)
  • Meet Ricky Gervais
  • Montreal: An Intervention (Because We Love You) (Can)
  • Over The Edge: Just For Laughs (Can)
  • Peeping Behind The Curtain (Micky Flanagan)
  • Peter Cook – a Posthumous Tribute
  • Q Awards
  • Roast of Rob Lowe (USA)
  • Russell Howard’s Standup Central
  • Sketch Show (the)
  • Something For The Weekend
  • Strategic Humour Initiative (the)
  • Sunday Night at The Palladium
  • This Week at The Comedy Cellar (USA)
  • Top Gear

Narrator / Presenter / Contributor

  • 100 Greatest Cartoons, The
  • 100 Greatest Christmas Moments, The
  • 100 Greatest Pop Videos, The
  • 100 Greatest Scary Moments, The
  • 100 Greatest Tearjerkers, The
  • 100 Greatest TV Treats of 2003, The
  • 100 Greatest TV Treats of 2004, The
  • 100 Worst Britons
  • 100 Worst Pop Records
  • All Star Wake Up Call
  • Jimmy Carr’s Greatest Pop Stars

Post Filters (finding shows by category)

Other ways of finding details on Jimmy’s TV career, from within this blog, is to use the filters of Categories.

Alternatively, you can search by a show name (e.g. Conan) or, when reading a post, look at the Tags at the bottom and click on one, to see related stories.

Where possible all blog posts contain video clips but, if you want to have a binge, you can visit Jimmy’s YouTube channel Jimmy Carr TV (here).