Jonathan "Jon" Tickle is a television presenter in the UK, who initially rose to fame as a contestant on the fourth series of the British Big Brother

Big Brother (UK)

Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...

. He appeared before this, however, as a contestant on the gameshow Blockbusters in 1991. He is also a co-presenter on the Sky Digital

Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)

Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...

 television series Brainiac

Brainiac: Science Abuse

Brainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions...

. He has an identical twin brother, Phillip. Jon currently works for Centrica.

Big Brother

Tickle was allowed to return to the Big Brother house after having been evicted into the outside world (although during his second time in the house he was not eligible to win). He returned after the public voted on which evicted housemate should be put back into the house.

Tickle has fan websites, most notably "Jon Tickle - The Legend". He was also the object of devotion of the Brethren of the Church of Jon, an organisation set up in his honour on the Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 Big Brother forums during Big Brother 4. He was also a contestant on a celebrity edition of Distraction

Distraction (game show)

Distraction was a game show that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 31 October 2003 to 11 June 2004. Presented by comedian Jimmy Carr, the show involves contestants answering questions, while being distracted in various bizarre, painful and humiliating ways.Carr is aided by...

winning roughly £3,500 for Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer...

.

Brainiac

Tickle, a physics graduate of the University of Leicester

University of Leicester

The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....

, has gone on to co-present Brainiac: Science Abuse

Brainiac: Science Abuse

Brainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions...

, a series of science-based shows on the UK television station Sky One

Sky One

Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...

. His best-known stunt, shown on other shows such as QI

QI

QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...

 and Mythbusters

MythBusters

MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...

 was of Tickle walking on a pool

Swimming pool

A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...

 full of custard powder and water.

Tickle has had many ideas and one of his most famous is the "time-delay toaster." "What's the problem with toast

Toast

Toast is bread that has been browned by exposure to radiant heat. This browning reaction is known as the Maillard reaction. Toasting warms the bread and makes it firmer, so it holds toppings more securely...

? Two slices pop up, you whip one out, and spread some margarine

Margarine

Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes, typically composed of vegetable oils. In many parts of the world, the market share of margarine and spreads has overtaken that of butter...

 on it. But by the time you get the second, the consistency has changed. Why not have a time

Time

Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....

 delay?" He is also known for the segment 'Tickle's Teaser', where he asks the viewer a tough scientific question.

External links