Cold Feet star John Thomson hasn't had an acting job for six months
Cold Feet and Fast Show star John Thomson has revealed he has not had a paid acting job for six months.
John Thomson hasn’t had a paid acting job for six months - and he is concerned about the future of television because of the switch to streaming.
The 57-year-old actor is one of the country's most recognisable TV stars thanks to his roles as Pete Gifford in romantic drama Cold Feet, as Jesse Chadwick in Coronation Street and dim-witted barman Ken in boorish sitcom Men Behaving Badly, and character sketches in the Fast Show.
John had a busy 2025 starring in Art Detectives and The Madame Blanc Mysteries, but this year he has had no acting jobs and he believes the future for stations like ITV and Channel 4 are bleak because viewers have switched to streaming platforms which means they can’t earn the advertising revenue needed to make new dramas and comedies.
Appearing on the Scarred For Life podcast, John said: “Last year was feast, this year famine. I haven’t done a single acting job for six months.
“It’s hard now. No one has got any money. The thing is that commercial stations that rely on advertising everybody has switched to platforms where just pay subscriptions. If you want to advertise your product why would you pick a commercial station that people are kind of tuning out of? You’re not getting the views.”
John has also seen some of his voiceover work dry up and he is worried that in a world where AI can mimic your voice and likeness actors may resort to selling the rights to themselves to AI companies.
He said: “Is there a way they can buy you out? Pay a lump sum and they own you and they can do anything they want with you. I don’t like the idea of that.”
Back in 2025, John voiced his fears about his future as a jobbing actor because he is a "white, middle-class, middle-aged, straight actor".
Appearing on the We're Not Getting Any Younger podcast, he said: "As far as bankability or castability, or popularity stakes go as actors, I'm the worst.
"I'm a white, middle-class, middle-aged straight actor, and they don't want us anymore. I don't think so, not really. Maybe occasionally.
"I've got to think about what else I can do."
