Griff Rhys Jones – Biography, Career, and Public Record

Griff Rhys Jones has been a fixture of British entertainment for more than four decades. Born in Cardiff on 16 November 1953, he became a household name through the BBC sketch show Not the Nine O’Clock News and then through the long-running comedy partnership Alas Smith and Jones, made with Mel Smith.

His route to television was not a straight one. He grew up in Brentwood, Essex, and read English at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, with one source adding that he studied History and English there. According to Screenonline, he briefly worked as a bodyguard to Arab visitors to London after university before joining BBC Radio Light Entertainment as a producer.

That production background fed into a career that now spans comedy, theatre, factual television, writing, and live performance. The result is a public record that is rich in some areas and notably thin in others.

Who is Griff Rhys Jones?

The essentials of his biography are well documented across the main public references.

Several points stand out from the available record:

• Rose to national attention in the late 1970s through the BBC sketch series Not the Nine O’Clock News.
• Co-created and starred in the long-running sketch show Alas Smith and Jones with Mel Smith.
• Helped found the production company TalkBack Productions with Smith.
• Won two Olivier Awards for Best Comedy Performance, for Charley’s Aunt and An Absolute Turkey.
• Became a prolific presenter of heritage, literary, and travel documentaries.
• Received an OBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

A snapshot of the key facts looks like this:

What is Griff Rhys Jones known for?

Two BBC shows define his public reputation, but his career has never been limited to sketch comedy.

A defining comedy partnership with Mel Smith

Not the Nine O’Clock News brought him to national attention in the late 1970s. The series helped launch several comedy careers. Read about Not the Nine O’Clock News cast to see the wider ensemble that came through the same show.

After that series ended, he continued working with Mel Smith, and the two went on to co-create Alas Smith and Jones, commonly shortened to Smith and Jones. The BBC gave the pair their own long-running sketch show, and his profile at the Torch Theatre describes him as one of Britain’s best-known comedy performers.

The partnership also extended into production. With Smith, he helped found TalkBack Productions, a company that grew into one of the more successful comedy production businesses of the era.

More than comedy: presenting and factual television

From the 1990s onward, presenting became an increasingly large part of his work. His credits include the book programme Bookworm, The Nation’s Favourite Poem, and Restoration, a series focused on heritage buildings.

He has also presented travel and history documentaries across Wales, Australia, and Canada, covering subjects such as Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, John Betjeman, and Thomas Hardy. His talent agency profile at the YMU Group lists the full range of that factual work.

What TV shows and stage productions has he been in?

Comedy made his name, but his television and theatre credits stretch across genres and formats.

Stage credits and Olivier success

Griff Rhys Jones has a substantial theatre career. He has played leading roles in Charley’s Aunt, An Absolute Turkey, Arturo Ui, Plunder, and Fagin in Oliver!.

Those performances brought recognition as well as box-office success. He won two Olivier Awards for Best Comedy Performance, for Charley’s Aunt and An Absolute Turkey.

His stage work has continued at intervals. A profile at London Theatre notes that he returned to the West End in 2017.

Panel shows and later television appearances

His television appearances have also included panel and light entertainment formats. A panel show database records 17 appearances between 1988 and 2019.

Later credits include It’ll Be Alright on the Night, Three Men in a Boat and its related sequels, and guest acting in Agatha Christie’s Marple.

One fan-maintained page connects him to Whose Line Is It Anyway?, but that claim rests on a fandom database and carries less weight than the other references.

Is Griff Rhys Jones married? And what is his net worth?

Marriage to Jo Jones

Public references to his marriage point consistently to Jo Jones. IMDb, a separate biography entry on the same site, and an Amazon Prime Video actor page all record that detail.

Beyond the marriage reference, the public record is thin. Available sources do not offer strong detail about children or wider family life.

The TalkBack Productions sale and the question of net worth

No reliable, citable net worth figure for Griff Rhys Jones appears in publicly available documentation. The clearest financial datapoint is the reported £62 million sale of TalkBack Productions, the company he co-founded with Mel Smith.

That figure, reported by the comedy trade site Chortle, was the company’s sale value rather than his personal wealth. Online estimates of his personal fortune should be treated as speculation.

Has Griff Rhys Jones written any books or are there upcoming tour dates?

Semi-Detached and other writing

In 2006, Griff Rhys Jones published Semi-Detached, an autobiography described by one source as a memoir of suburban childhood. The book appears on both Apple TV’s page for Griff Rhys Jones and Goodreads.

Cadw, the Welsh historic environment service, describes him as an author as well as a comedian, actor, and presenter. The full list of his books is not publicly documented.

Live performances and touring

Publicly available listings do not confirm any current or upcoming tour dates. One theatre source notes that he returned to the West End in 2017, but nothing in the available material points to a full touring schedule.

Ticket platforms have carried his events in the past. Ents24, for example, has listed Griff Rhys Jones dates previously, but no forthcoming shows are confirmed in the available listings.

How did Griff Rhys Jones’s career develop over the decades?

The main lines of his career can be traced through a few key dates.

1. 1953 — Born Griffith Rhys Jones in Cardiff, Wales.
2. 1979 — Joined the cast of BBC’s Not the Nine O’Clock News.
3. 1982 — Not the Nine O’Clock News came to an end; he began work with Mel Smith on various projects.
4. 1989 — Alas Smith and Jones premiered on the BBC.
5. 2006 — Published the memoir Semi-Detached.
6. 2017 — Returned to the West End, according to a London Theatre profile.
7. 2019 — Received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

What is confirmed about Griff Rhys Jones and what remains unclear?

The public record is robust on some points and thin on others.

Why does Griff Rhys Jones still matter in British comedy?

Griff Rhys Jones remains a significant figure in British comedy, particularly in the alternative comedy boom of the 1980s. Not the Nine O’Clock News helped set the tone for a generation of satirical sketch shows, and his double act with Mel Smith became one of the defining duos of the era.

Mel Smith died in 2013, ending any possibility of a full reunion. In the years since, Griff Rhys Jones has concentrated more on stage work, presenting, and writing, as traditional sketch comedy has faded from mainstream broadcast schedules.

His continuing presence on the live circuit and in occasional television appearances keeps that history visible to audiences who may have missed the original broadcasts.

Which sources offer reliable information about Griff Rhys Jones?

A small number of entertainment, theatre, and publishing sources provide the most reliable documentation of his career. Two profiles are worth singling out for their overviews.

“Griff Rhys Jones is a comic, actor, writer, and presenter. He is perhaps best known for his comedy sketch work on the BBC, regularly appearing in Not The Nine O’Clock News…”

WhatsOnStage profile

“Griff Rhys Jones was born in Cardiff in 1953. He is a comedian, actor and writer whose television credits include Not the Nine O’Clock News, Smith and Jones…”

Hodder & Stoughton publisher page

What is the key takeaway about Griff Rhys Jones?

Griff Rhys Jones built his public identity on two of British television’s most fondly remembered comedy shows, then spent the following decades adding theatre, factual programming, and writing to the same career. The main landmarks of his life and work are well documented, even where details such as net worth or a full tour schedule remain unconfirmed. Explore other Welsh comedy legends for more profiles from the same tradition.

What do people often ask about Griff Rhys Jones?