The comedian has previously said how his start in comedy was inspired by heartbreak
John Bishop with his wife and kids(Image: JohnBish100 Instagram)
John Bishop has shared a message for his wife Melanie as she celebrates her 60th birthday. The Liverpool-born star married Melanie in 1993 and they share three sons together. John has previously said how his start in comedy was inspired by heartbreak as his marriage was falling apart, a story which has since inspired Hollywood film ‘Is This Thing On’.
The comedy star told the Big Interview in 2004 about how he performed his first stand-up gig while he was in the middle of an 18-month separation from his wife. He said: “I was as miserable as sin at the time because I was going through a rocky period in my marriage, so it was either a lap dancing bar or a comedy club so I went to the Frog and Bucket.”
He continued: “We met up after the show and she said seeing me up there reminded her of me as I used to be. When I was a good laugh.” The couple are now going strong and continue to share happy memories together. They are currently enjoying a ski trip abroad in the Alps.
On Instagram, John uploaded a picture of Melanie with family and friends as they enjoyed their trip away. He captioned the post: “It came as no surprise to me that Melanie wanted to spend her 60th birthday skiing in the Alps with her family. These mountains have created so many memories for her and the family and her father’s spirit permeated the whole day.”
The heartfelt message continued: “It has now become common practice to use platforms like this to publicly celebrate your partner with gushing words of love. I have known Melanie for 38 of the 60 years she has been on this planet and I have grown to love her with all of my heart not because of the great days like today but because of the hard ones.”
John told followers about his love for Melanie, he added: “I love her when I have felt lost and full of pain.” The 59-year-old is “thanking his lucky stars” that he and Melanie are in it forever. He wrote: “Happy birthday babe – you are Still The One.”
Supportive messages were sent to Melanie after the lengthy post. Gabby Logan posted: “Gorgeous and happy birthday Mel” and Jake Humphrey added: “Gorgeous post. You’re both winning. Congrats.”
John Bishop and Melanie Bishop (Image: 2026 Samir Hussein/Getty Images)
Other comments were: “That’s so beautiful John, she’s a lucky woman to be so loved and not afraid to say it” and “Wow! Fabulous words! A very happy birthday to your gorgeous Mel.”
Further replies included: “Beautiful words John , lovely pics of you all enjoying the slopes, Happy Birthday to you Mel” and “Happy 60th Melanie have a great holiday.”
Speaking about the movie loosely based on his rise to fame, and his relationship, John told the ECHO: “It’s not a word by word biopic, but there’s so many things in there, so many elements that reflected what really happened. It has been one of those things where people have stepped away and been like, ‘Oh my God’, I didn’t know that was the reality.
“Marriage is hard, there’s lots of ups and downs and we’ve managed to keep fighting our corner 30 years later. That’s the message of the film: That it’s always worth having another look, having another go.”
The idea was first floated that John’s life could be a movie almost a decade ago by producer Kris Thykier, but the comic was initially apprehensive. However, he became more open to the idea when comedy actor Will Arnett, was interested in the story.