Waterloo Road's Jason Manford fears he'll be cancelled after agent's warning

Comedian and actor Jason Manford has admitted his agent says he is on social media too much. The 44-year-old dad of six is a prolific user of platforms and often becomes embroiled in heated discussions with people who respond to his posts. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk at the Inside Soap Awards in London on Monday September 29, the Waterloo Road star quipped he uses social media as "heckler practice" but says his agent has warned him he is on it "too much really."

Opening up about trolls he encounters he said: "I just think they say something and you get a bit of time, you can think of something (clever) to say back... I'm never gonna say anything - well, I don't think I am - I'm never going to say anything so offensive that I'm going to get myself cancelled by saying something derogatory about a minority. So I don't think in that respect I'm worried about that," he said.

The star confessed he empathises with younger actors who have no option but to focus on social media if they want to make an impact.

"I think social media has, unfortunately, become part of the job," he said. "I feel sorry for this generation."

"They go into castings, and people are looking at how many followers they've got to see if they will give them a job.

"It's not what it was. When I started it was a meritocracy. If you did well and you were good at it, you'd get work and if you were nice to work with, you turn up on time that was enough. But now it's live TikToks."

Given how prominently social media now features in the rise of comedy stars Jason says he wouldn't even attempt to build a career in the current climate.

"I wouldn't start in this business now, in 2025. I'd go and be a plumber like my brother," he admitted.

He insisted: "I couldn't do it. I've not got the thick enough skin or the ego. I just couldn't do it. Online is a tough, tough place to learn your trade - harder than the clubs I was in.

"I was in (the likes of) Jongleurs in Nottingham on a Friday night with a hen party screaming things at me and I'd take that any day over what people are like on Twitter."