Elis James

Elis James is a Welsh stand-up comedian, broadcaster, actor and podcast host who performs in both English and Welsh. Born in Haverfordwest and raised in Carmarthen, he has worked in comedy since 2005 and brings a warm, observational style to every room he hosts.

Since 2019 he has presented the Friday afternoon show on BBC Radio 5 Live with John Robins, following five years together on Radio X. The partnership has produced the podcast How Do You Cope? and a run of industry awards, including Gold for Funniest Show at the 2020 ARIAS and Gold for Best Comedy at the British Podcast Awards 2025. In 2025 the pair toured the UK with Elis & John: That Feels Significant Live!, after earlier presenting Made Up Games Live.

On television Elis co-hosted and wrote for Sky's revival of Fantasy Football League with Matt Lucas, and has appeared on Mock the Week, QI, 8 Out of 10 Cats and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. As an actor he played the lead in the BBC Three sitcom Crims and Owen across three series of Josh Widdicombe's sitcom Josh.

Football runs through much of his work. He co-hosts The Socially Distant Sports Bar for the BBC with Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero, which he has also taken on tour, and Feast of Football for BBC Radio Wales, and he is a regular voice on The Guardian's Football Weekly. He also hosts the comedy history series Oh What a Time and has sat on the judging panel of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.

His Welsh-language work includes the S4C stand-up specials Rhacs Jibiders and Haleliw, a sold-out Welsh-language stand-up tour in 2024 and BBC Radio Cymru's Dwy Iaith, Un Ymennydd. He writes regularly for The Guardian and co-authored the book Holy Vible with John Robins.

For event organisers, Elis combines the timing of a working stand-up with the discipline of live radio. He keeps an awards ceremony moving, puts winners and guests at ease and reads a room quickly, whether the audience is in Cardiff, London or anywhere in between, and in English or Welsh.