Joseph Roland Wilkinson (born 2 May 1975) is an English comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He began his comedy career in 2004 and has supported Alan Carr and Russell Howard on tour. In 2006, Wilkinson won the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year.
Wilkinson's television appearances include Live at the Electric and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. He is also in the comedy duo Two Episodes of Mash, alongside Diane Morgan. In 2019 Wilkinson won a celebrity special version of The Great British Bake Off (for Stand Up to Cancer UK).
Wilkinson was born in Bromley to Stella and Brian Wilkinson. He was named after his grandfather, Rolan Joseph. Along with his brother, Robert, Wilkinson was brought up in the village of Kemsing. He attended Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys.
While working in graphic design, Wilkinson started his career in 2004 at his local pub, which was holding an 'open mic' evening. Asked by the pub to return, Wilkinson told the Northern Echo:
I thought, 'Oh, I hadn't really thought about doing it again'. So I did that a few months later, and then someone else booked me and it just sort of kept going. People kept booking me and I have no recollection of my first gig. I'm almost certain it wasn't brilliant. I'd love to say I had my five-point plan. I'm still sort of winging it if I'm honest.
Since 2008, he has performed many stand-up shows, including the tour "Joe Wilkinson: My Mum's Called Stella and My Dad's Called Brian", and has appeared at venues such as the Edinburgh Fringe and the Bloomsbury Theatre.
Since 2010, Wilkinson has appeared in a number of television shows. In 2010, he played various characters in the first series of Robert's Web. He appeared on The Rob Brydon Show, The Wright Stuff, Show & Tell, Comedy Lab, My Funniest Year, and the television film England's Worst Ever Football Team. He played a major role in Him & Her as Dan Perkins, the lonely, socially awkward neighbour to main characters Becky and Steve.
Wilkinson has appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week and Never Mind the Buzzcocks and has performed at a stand-up section of Russell Howard's Good News. He has appeared in Miranda.
Wilkinson wrote three episodes in the first series of Anna & Katy, as well as an animated short in 2012, A Fishy Tale. Three episodes of Show & Tell and the episode '2001' for My Funniest Year were written by him.
Wilkinson was involved in the BBC Three comedy show Live at the Electric as a member of the comedic double act Two Episodes of Mash with Diane Morgan. It had been previously broadcast on BBC Radio 2.
In 2014, Wilkinson appeared as a resident comedian on the revived TV game show Celebrity Squares, hosted by Warwick Davis on ITV. It returned for a second series in April 2015.
In 2016, he starred in the Sky 1 series Rovers which he co-wrote with David Earl. He was also a contestant on the second series of Dave comedy panel show Taskmaster.
In 2019, Wilkinson appeared as Jeffrey in the first and third series of the Netflix original series Sex Education, and featured in Ricky Gervais' comedy-drama After Life as "Postman Pat", the incompetent and nosey postman of the main character's street.
In November 2019 he starred in the three-part Gold sitcom The Cockfields, which he co-wrote with David Earl. Wilkinson plays Simon, who takes his girlfriend Donna (Diane Morgan) to meet his family at their home on the Isle of Wight for the first time.
In 2024, Wilkinson co-presented Joe & Katherine's Bargain Holidays with Katherine Ryan on Channel 4. It was on this show that Joe introduced the term 'mousie', which is a selfie taken from the perspective of a mouse.
In March 2025, he starred in the first series of LOL: Last One Laughing UK, hosted by Jimmy Carr & Roisin Conaty, alongside Richard Ayoade, Sara Pascoe, Lou Sanders, Rob Beckett, Judi Love, Bob Mortimer, Joe Lycett, Daisy May Cooper & Harriet Kemsley
In May 2025, Wilkinson was announced as a contestant on the first series of The Celebrity Traitors. Wilkinson was selected to play as a 'Faithful' but was eventually 'murdered' in the sixth episode. He and Keira Knightley starred in the Waitrose Christmas adverts for 2025.
Since 2012, Wilkinson has made semi-regular appearances on the 8 Out of 10 Cats spin-off show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. He generally participates in the show's latter half and occasionally acts as Rachel Riley's assistant. He often appears in costumes, performs stunts and brings on special guests, and routinely refers to the show's regular model, Fabio (played by Robert Deaton), as his half-brother. In 2012, during the special episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Deal or No Deal?, Wilkinson made a special appearance as the banker's assistant.