Jay Foreman (comedian)
English comedian, YouTuber and musician (born 1984)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jay Foreman (born 4 October 1984) is an English comedian, educator, documentarian, YouTuber, and singer-songwriter.
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Jay Foreman | |
|---|---|
Foreman headline performing at the Musical Comedy Awards 2022 | |
| Born | 4 October 1984 Stanmore, London, England |
| Education | University of York |
| Spouse |
Jade Nagi (m. 2021) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Beardyman (brother) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Musical comedy |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Website | www |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Subscribers | 1.76 million |
| Views | 265 million |
| Last updated: 8 March 2026 | |
Early life
Foreman was born on 4 October 1984.[1] He was raised in a Jewish household in Stanmore, London, with his brother and sister.[2] His brother Darren is a beatboxer and musician going under the pseudonym Beardyman, who he sometimes collaborates onstage with.[3]
From 1996 to 2003, Foreman was educated at Queen Elizabeth's School,[4] a state grammar school for boys in Barnet, north London, followed by the University of York, where he began performing comedy songs on acoustic guitar in 2005.[5]
Career
Comedy
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Foreman was featured as the BBC New Talent Pick of the Fringe 2007, won Best Newcomer at the Tuborg Musical Comedy awards 2009,[6] and came third at the Musical Comedy Awards 2010.[7] In 2009, Foreman contributed jingles to the weekly comedy podcast Answer Me This!,[8] and in 2011 and 2012, supported comedian Dave Gorman on Dave Gorman's PowerPoint Presentation tour.[9]
Foreman presented The General Election Xplained, a series of educational videos to explain the election process for schoolchildren in Key Stages 3 to 5.[10]
For several years, he has also performed shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which include Disgusting Songs For Revolting Children (And Other Funny Stories), No More Colours and Mixtape.[11]
Jay Foreman's songs have featured on BBC Radio 4, Radio 4 Extra, The One Show, and London Live.[12]
YouTube
Foreman created his YouTube channel in April 2006. Its content focuses on a variety of comic educational series such as Unfinished London, Politics Unboringed, and Map Men (presented with Mark Cooper-Jones), as well as music videos for his songs and clips from his comedy shows. In September 2025, the name of the channel was changed from "Jay Foreman" to "Jay and Mark" to represent Mark Cooper-Jones's involvement, particularly in the web series 'Map Men'.[13][14]
Unfinished London
Unfinished London is an educational mini-series which premiered in 2009. Foreman created and co-writes the series with Paul Kendler, who often features within the episodes themselves. As of January 2026[update] there are 15 episodes, with the most recent being released in 2022. The series premiered on YouTube with each episode or set of handling a specific area of the evolution of London's infrastructure, urban planning, and local government. The series was initially only meant to exist as a single episode to function as a skills showcase but the reception convinced Foreman to continue making them.[15]
Politics Unboringed
Politics Unboringed was a series of educational YouTube videos that ran between 2015 and 2017. Each episode is roughly five minutes long and handles various topics relating to British politics. Foreman has no plans to bring the series back, stating that "with everything that’s going on, I now find it impossible, irresponsible even, to maintain the cheery, neutral tone that the series used to have."[15]
Map Men
Map Men is an edutainment mini-series[16][17] which premiered in 2016. Foreman writes and presents the show with its co-creator Mark Cooper-Jones.[16][17][18] A mix of comedy and geography,[18][19] its videos regularly attract 1–5 million views on YouTube.[16][17][20] In October 2025, the duo released the book This Way Up: When Maps Go Wrong (And Why It Matters).[21]
Personal life
Foreman married Jade Nagi in 2021.[22] They have two sons, born in July 2022 and November 2023.[23][24] He also has two siblings; a brother, musician Darren Foreman aka Beardyman, and a sister.[25] Foreman's family is Jewish, and in a statement written for the London Jewish News in 2018, he described his fondness for his family's Jewish traditions, even though Foreman himself is an atheist.[25]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–present | Unfinished London | Presenter | Co-writer and creator alongside Paul Kendler |
| 2015–2017 | Politics Unboringed | Presenter | Writer and creator of the series |
| 2016 | Go For It | Contestant | Series: 1, Episode: 5 |
| 2016–present | Map Men | Presenter | Co-writer and creator alongside Mark Cooper-Jones |
| 2018 | BBC Earth Science | Presenter | Presented episode: "Are Cities Smart or Stupid?" |
| 2023 | Geography Now | Guest presenter | Guest presenter from the United Kingdom |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Musical Comedy Awards | Best Newcomer | Won | [26] | |
| 2010 | Musical Comedy Awards | Main Award | Third place | [26] | |
| 2021 | 11th Streamy Awards | Learning and Education | Map Men | Nominated | [27] |
| 2024 | 2024 UK and Ireland TikTok Awards | Video of the Year | Map Men | Won | [28] |
