Martin Christopher Jarvis (born 20 April 1969) is an English actor, television/radio presenter and writer who has appeared mainly on children's television for the BBC since 1993, apart from 2000 to 2002 when he was working with ITV and Channel 4. Jarvis currently presents for BBC Radio Solent.
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Early life
Jarvis grew up in Billericay and Brentwood.
Career
Early career
Jarvis made his name in the early 1990s on Children's BBC, presenting from the "Broom Cupboard" alongside Zoe Ball and Josie d'Arby, as well as hosting his own shows like Look Sharp. Jarvis wrote a lot of material for Children's BBC himself (including the mini soap opera Wood Lane TV) and created several memorable characters, including "The Anorak".
In 1997, Jarvis was part of The Friday Zone (which was broadcast on Friday afternoons on BBC One for most of the children's slot) with Debra Stephenson, Peter Simon, Dominic Wood, Steve Rock and Emma Lee. They released a single called "Glasses" as a spin-off from the programme, to raise money for Comic Relief.
Jarvis then presented Fully Booked with Tim Vincent and Gail Porter for a few years. He has appeared on many other TV shows including Short Change, Exclusive, Playdays and Soap Fever.
Since 2025, Chris has regularly acted as a stand-in presenter on BBC Radio Solent broadcasting to Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, covering Katie Martin on the Daytime programme and Rick Jackson In the Afternoon.
CBeebies
Jarvis was one of the original lineup of CBeebies presenters, alongside Pui Fan Lee, Sidney Sloane, and Sue Monroe every day. From March 2007 until his departure on 2 January 2009, he presented alongside Lee from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm with Discover and Do, then the Bedtime Hour from 6:00 pm and again on BBC Two in the mornings. He also starred in Step Inside as Mr Mopple and voiced characters in Underground Ernie. In 2009, he and Lee left the channel's main presentation to create Show Me Show Me.
Show Me Show Me is still broadcast on CBeebies today. The first 40 half-hour episodes were broadcast on the CBeebies channel, BBC One and BBC Two from Monday 6 July 2009 every weekday at 10:00 am and 1:30 pm. Series 5 was filmed on location near Manchester in 2013.
From 2010 to 2017, Jarvis and Lee toured the UK with The Chris and Pui Roadshow.
In 2019, he started a radio station for children called Little Radio. In 2023, Jarvis took over the role of Robert the Robot in Justin's House from Steven Kynman.
Acting
As an actor, Jarvis has appeared in The Demon Headmaster and ChuckleVision, and played Mr Mopple in the early CBeebies story-telling programme Step Inside. He also presented Maths Mansion.
Music
Jarvis hosts family concerts for the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic.
Pantomime
Jarvis has appeared in pantomimes professionally every year since 1995, and prior to that had performed in several as an amateur. Since 2001, he has written and directed many of these pantomimes.
1995 Aladdin, Guildford – Bernie Nolan, Clare Buckfield, Jack Douglas, Richard Gibson
1996 Aladdin, Richmond – Bonnie Langford, Bernard Cribbins, Terrence Hardiman
1997 Jack & the Beanstalk, Bromley – Matthew Kelly, Vicki Michelle, Toyah Willcox, Robert Duncan
1998 Cinderella, Lewisham – Linda Robson, Femi Oke
1999 Peter Pan, Reading – Derek Griffiths, Hilary O'Neil
2000 Jack & the Beanstalk, Croydon – Kate Ritchie
2001 Cinderella, Malvern – Marti Webb, Nicholas Smith
2002 Cinderella, Bournemouth – Ruth Madoc, Nicholas Smith
2003 Cinderella, Basingstoke – Sarah Thomas, Michael Knowles
2004 Jack & the Beanstalk, Bournemouth – Chris Ellison, Tom Owen, Jacki Piper
2005 Aladdin, Bournemouth – Ray Meagher, Mark Squires
2006 Snow White, Tunbridge Wells – Carol Harrison, Richard Calkin
2007 Snow White, Basingstoke – Carol Harrison, Tom Owen
2008 Cinderella, Swansea – Su Pollard, Sarah Thomas