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Christopher David Johnson (often credited as Chris "Yonko" Johnson) (born 25 January 1991) is a British television presenter and actor. He began presenting on the CBBC Channel in January 2010, and continued until April 2016. His first television appearance was for BBC Three, introducing Family Guy. Chris also makes content on YouTube under the user name OfficialCDJ.[1]
Chris Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christopher David Johnson 25 January 1991 England |
| Other names | OfficialCDJ |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2007–present |
He voiced Dennis the Menace for the 2013 series Dennis the Menace and Gnasher.
Johnson also has a podcast which he co-hosts called BigDamnCast. He also started up a podcast called Out of the Broom Cupboard (OOTBC for short) where he talks to previous and current presenters, actors, voice actors, puppeteers and more about their careers in and around CBBC. The name Out of the Broom Cupboard refers to the nickname given to the CBBC office due to the size.
He attended Moorside High School in Swinton from 2002 to 2007 where he performed in a number of school musical productions. He then attended Pendleton College from 2007 to 2009, studying Performing Arts and Film Studies. Whilst there, Chris played a part in several shows, taking on the title role in an adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray as one example, as well as being involved in the college's first comedy review show. Adaptations of his YouTube sketches appeared in the review as video gags.
In the summer of 2007, he took part in the 'League of Locals' event, a live sketch show organised by the members of The League of Gentlemen's then-official website, This Is A Local Shop.
From early 2008 to the end of 2009, Chris was the co-presenter of The Lewis Ryan Show on Salford City Radio. In August 2011 he made a return to the show, appearing most Saturdays and occasionally hosting the show himself when Lewis was unavailable. The duo retired the show in October 2013, preferring to concentrate more on their podcast work.
BBC Three
During his time at Pendleton, he submitted a short introduction video to BBC Three as part of their Be On TV campaign. Performing an impression of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy, Chris's video proved successful enough upon airing to encourage BBC Three to require him once more in a relaunch of the campaign, this time providing a trailer showing others how to submit their own videos. The ad ran from April to August in 2009 on BBC Three.
CBBC
In January 2010, Chris began presenting links on the CBBC Channel, the last of which being Shout Out Saturday with Shannon Flynn. Prior to this he presented weekday afternoons with Hacker the Dog, and has been teamed previously with Dodge T. Dog, Ed Petrie or London Hughes. During school holidays, Chris presented the live mornings, and was also the voice of CBBC on BBC One & BBC Two. As of early 2010, he also became the chief presenter of CBBC's red button service CBBC Extra.
When the BBC moved children's services to MediaCityUK Chris was the first presenter to appear onscreen in the brand new CBBC Office set. As of January 2013, Chris became the chief continuity presenter on the CBBC Channel. He is sometimes referred to by the other presenters and sidekicks as 'Yonko', amongst other strange nicknames.
As part of the CBBC line-up, Chris has been involved with tie-in events such as Red Nose Day 2011 for Comic Relief. He has also made cameos on Sam & Mark's TMi Friday, Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up and in the fourth episode of the third series of Little Howard's Big Question alongside Hacker, as well as presenting in the second series of All Over The Place with his former partner Ed Petrie. In 2011 he partook in the Formula 1 CBBC Alternative Commentary as well as the Euro 2012 Final CBBC Alternative Commentary. Since 2014, Johnson has narrated Whoops I Missed the Bus.
On 4 July 2014 Johnson announced that he would be leaving the CBBC Office continuity links as of 5 September that year,.[2][non-primary source needed] On the day itself it was announced that Chris would continue to appear as the recurring presenter for the Shout Out Saturday live slot.
Since 2016, Johnson has appeared on the CBBC panel show The Dog Ate My Homework a number of times across two series.
On 9 April 2016 Shout Out Saturday came to a close, and that morning Chris and Shannon Flynn announced it was their last ever day on the CBBC Channel continuity.
Dennis the Menace
Chris voiced Dennis the Menace from Season 2 onwards in the Dennis the Menace and Gnasher animated series, taking over from Sophie Aldred.[3] The theme song was redone for the new version of the show, with Johnson providing vocals.
He also recorded a new series of 'Beanotown', as Dennis, for Fun Kids Radio, which was broadcast during the summer of 2013, with a second series broadcast in 2015. Chris provides the voice of Dennis and many other characters for most Beano tie-in projects, such as IOS games.[4]
Doctor Who
Whilst working at CBBC, Chris took part in several Doctor Who & The Sarah Jane Adventures promotional events. As an open 'mega-fan' of both shows, he was the obvious choice for the sketches, which included a five-part crossover with the CBBC Office and the characters from The Sarah Jane Adventures, interviewing Amy Pond actress Karen Gillan for CBBC on the week of the launch of the new series of Doctor Who, and many other examples. He provided the voiceover for a CBBC exclusive trailer for the 2013 series.
In early 2011, Chris made his début as a member of the new Time Team feature for Doctor Who Magazine, and during that team's tenure they covered everything from the 2005 series' opener Rose, eventually ending unannounced in late 2017 with their piece about 2011's The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People. In 2018 the magazine relaunched the item with a different team, with no explanation given as to why the previous incarnation was concluded.
Chris also played several characters in the Doctor Who spin-off Gallifrey IV by Big Finish Productions, as well as appearing in the Bernice Summerfield story 'Private Enemy No.1' from the 'Epoch' series.
Chris appeared in the final episode of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, 'The Gunpowder Plot', in the roles of 'Barnaby', plotter Robert Keyes and a royal guard.
In 2015, he appeared on the 'Doctor Who Comic Book Day' episode of Doctor Who: The Fan Show,[5] as well as the review episode for The Magician's Apprentice.[6]
Podcasting and other work
Not only does Chris host his 'OfficialCDJ' YouTube Channel, but he co-presented The Lewis Ryan Show most Saturdays on Salford City Radio. Chris appeared as one of the talking heads on Catalyst Media's "Temple of Nerd" Podcast, which ran for nearly two years before wrapping up in August 2014.
He appeared on an episode of Celebrity Mastermind in December 2012.[7] In 2014 he appeared as 'Ken Kong' in an episode of Strange Hill High.
In 2014, he participated in several online audio series as a performer, including Timetunnel Media's 'Doctor Who: The Missing Adventures' as an Ice Warrior and in the role of companion Tim in the Aimless Wanderings audio plays.[8]
To celebrate the ten year anniversary of the return of Doctor Who to television, Chris began a podcast series called '#9is10', which provides brand new episode commentaries for the entire 2005 run of the show, as well as extra interviews with guests, some of whom are personal friends. The entire run, which is ongoing from March 2015, can be downloaded for free from his 'OfficialCDJ' SoundCloud page.[9]
A casual gamer, Chris began a Twitch streaming service in 2015[10] where he plays indie and mainstream titles for the PS4. In June of 2021 he began scriptwriting and presenting a video game news show on YouTube called 'Games Vault',[11] which was produced until November of the same year.
He collaborates often with the YouTube group FiveWhoFans, appearing in their videos from time to time.[12] In August 2017, he became a main cast member.
Between July 2016 and March of 2022 Johnson recorded a weekly podcast called the '#BigDamnCast' with friend Matthew Watson, which they released on iTunes. After 300 episodes of the show the two decided to slow the pace of their releases and have since been uploading new episodes on an irregular basis.[13]
Since late 2023, he has been the voice of the TV, cinema and radio advertisements for holiday booking business Villa Plus.
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | BBC Three's "Be On TV!" ads | Stewie Griffin impersonator | |
| 2010–2016 | CBBC Channel | Presenter, actor, voiceover artist | Continuity presenter for live and pre-recorded links and voiceovers. Presented weekends and holiday mornings from 2010 until 2013. Hosted weekday afternoons with Hacker T. Dog from January 2013 til September 2014. Hosted Shout Out Saturday on the channel alongside Shannon Flynn from September 2014 – April 2016 |
| 2010 | Sam & Mark's TMI Friday | Himself | |
| 2011 | Little Howard's Big Question | Himself | |
| 2012 | All Over The Place | Himself | Multiple episodes in Series 2 |
| 2012–2013 | 12 Again | Himself | Featured in the 12 Again Specials |
| 2012 | Celebrity Mastermind | Himself | |
| 2013, 2014, 2015 | Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up | Himself | |
| 2013 | Pet School | Himself | |
| 2013 | Turbo Boost | Himself | |
| 2013–2014 | Blue Peter | Himself | Appearances & a guest judge for the 2013 Doctor Who gadget competition |
| 2013 | Dennis the Menace and Gnasher | Dennis the Menace; Postman; Pie Face's Dad; Mr Cheddar; Harley the Pig, etc. | Voiced Dennis the Menace and several other characters for the animated series, and across spin-off media |
| 2013–2014 | Cbeebies Bedtime Story | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2014–2018 | Whoops I Missed The Bus | Narrator | Narrated nearly every episode since Summer 2014 |
| 2014 | Strange Hill High | Ken Kong | Episode: 'Ken Kong' |
| 2014 | DNN | Himself | |
| 2014–2015 | Hacker Time | Himself | Two episodes of Series 4, in the 'Aeroport!' sketches; cameo'd in the Tim Warwood episode of Series 5 |
| 2015 | All Over The Place: Europe | Himself | Appeared in 13 of the 15 episodes |
| 2015 | Ultimate Brain | Himself | Series 2, Episode 1. Contestant alongside Ed Petrie & Iain Stirling |
| 2016 | All Over The Place: Europe, Part 2 | Himself | Appeared in 13 of the 15 episodes |
| 2016, 2017 | The Dog Ate My Homework | Himself | Panelist in 3 episodes of Series 3 and 2 episodes of Series 4 |
| 2017 | All Over The Place: Asia, Part 1 | Himself | Appeared in numerous episodes |
| 2017 | The League Of Gentlemen | Local Protester | Appeared in the Anniversary Special 'Royston Vasey Mon Amour' |
| 2018 | All Over The Place: Asia, Part 2 | Himself | Chris took over from Ed Petrie as the main presenter for the Indian portion of the show |
| 2018 | Sketchy Comedy | Various roles | Voiced several animated shorts in the 2018 episodes |
| 2020-present | BBC Bitesize Daily | Himself | 6x episodes in 2020; 2x episodes in 2021; 9x episodes in 2022 |
| 2020 | BBC Learning | Himself | Presenter of 6x numeracy and literacy episodes |
| 2023 | Dog Squad | Joe the Designer | Episode: 'Mission: Catwalk'[14] |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Doctor Who: The Adventure Games | Barnaby; Robert Keyes; Royal Guard | Episode: 'The Gunpowder Plot' |
| 2015 | Dennis & Gnasher Adventures! | Dennis; Gnasher; Walter; etc. | iOS and Android game |
Audio Productions
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Gallifrey IV | Technician Hester; Kraylon | Episodes: 'Disassembled' & 'Annihilation' |
| 2011 | Bernice Summerfield: Epoch | Darion | Episode: 'Public Enemy No. 1' |
| 2013–2015 | Beanotown | Dennis the Menace | Fun Kids radio series |
| 2014–present | Aimless Wanderings | Tim | Online audio series |
Theatre and stage
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Dorian Gray | Kingsley Theatre |
| 2008 | The School for Scandal | Sir Peter Teazle | Kingsley Theatre |
| 2008 | Grease (musical) | Teen Angel | Eccleston Theatre |
| 2009 | Double Bill: The Real Inspector Hound & Black Comedy | Corpse; Colonel Melkett | Kingsley Theatre |
| 2009 | Beyond the Front Line | Ensemble | The Lowry |
| 2014–2015 | Cinderella | Buttons; Baron Hard-Up | The Harlington, 2014–2015 pantomime |
| 2016–2017 | Cinderella | Buttons | New Theatre Royal Lincoln, 2016–2017 pantomime |
| 2017–2018 | Aladdin | Cous Cous | New Theatre Royal Lincoln, 2017–2018 pantomime |
| 2018 | Alice in Wonderland | The White Rabbit; Tweedle Dum; voice of The Cheshire Cat | New Theatre Royal Lincoln, 2018 Family Theatre Show |
| 2018–2019 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Muddles; The Frog Prince (voice & puppeteer) | New Theatre Royal Lincoln, 2018–2019 pantomime |
| 2019 | The Wizard of Oz | The Cowardly Lion | New Theatre Royal Lincoln, 2019 Family Theatre Show |
| 2019–2020 | Robin Hood | Will Scarlet | New Theatre Royal Lincoln, 2019–2020 pantomime |
| 2020 | Panto Live: Cinderella | Buttons | Going Live TV, 2020 livestream pantomime |
| 2021 | Panto Live Presents 'Cinderella: Remastered' | Buttons | Going Live TV, 2021 Easter livestream pantomime |
| 2021-2022 | Beauty and the Beast | Professor Ivar Brainstorm | New Theatre Royal Lincoln, 2021–2022 pantomime |
| 2022 | The Jungle Book | Kaa; The Monkey King | New Theatre Royal Lincoln, 2020 Family Theatre Show (rescheduled to 2022 due to the COVID-19 outbreak) |
Podcasts
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–present | #BigDamnCast | Co-host | A pop-culture news and reviews podcast hosted by Matt Watson and Chris Johnson. Available weekly on iTunes and Spotify. |
| 2019–2020 | Out of the Broom Cupboard (#OOTBC) | Host | Johnson interviews previous and current hosts, actors, voice actors, presenters, backstage crew, puppeteers and more about their careers in and around CBBC. Episode featured such guests as Phil Fletcher, the second puppeteer behind Hacker T. Dog, comedian Iain Stirling, and Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies. Episodes were released first on Patreon a week before being released on Spotify and ITunes. |
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