Jon Harvey

Jonathan David Harvey (born 23 February 1980) is a British comedy writer and performer. Since 2019 he has been best known for creating and performing as Count Binface, a novelty candidate who contests British elections as an "intergalactic space warrior" wearing a dustbin-shaped helmet. Harvey had previously performed a similar character, Lord Buckethead, standing against Theresa May at the 2017 general election, but was forced to retire it and create Count Binface in its place after a dispute with the filmmaker Todd Durham, who owns the rights to the Buckethead character. Harvey rarely gives interviews or appears in public out of character.

Background Jonathan David Harvey was born in Croydon, London, on 23 February 1980. His father, an estate agent, was an alcoholic, and died in 2005, aged 57. Harvey lived in 11 houses in his first 11 years, making his childhood chaotic. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA degree in literae humaniores, and has worked as a scriptwriter for the satirical television programmes The Thick of It, Have I Got News for You, and Time Trumpet. His character, Lord Buckethead – dressed in a black cloak over a spacesuit-style costume, with a tall, cylindrical black helmet with a thin visor – originated in the 1984 film Hyperspace, a low-budget Star Wars parody directed by Todd Durham. Harvey was inspired to adopt the persona after watching Hyperspace and learning that the character had contested the 1987 and 1992 general elections. In response, Harvey introduced a new character, Count Binface, and stood against the prime minister, Boris Johnson, in Uxbridge and South Ruislip at the 2019 general election. Hughes and Harvey went for drinks afterwards, after which Hughes used the Buckethead Twitter account to announce that he was an "imposter" and to endorse Binface as "the true heir to the Buckethead throne".

Harvey has occasionally appeared in public under his own name rather than in character. In 2020 he made a rare appearance at the Cambridge Union, where he closed for the opposition to the motion "This House would rather be a Spartan than an Athenian". He debated against Paul Cartledge, who moved the motion; the historian Tom Holland closed for the proposition.

Personal life Harvey is married to the actress Sarah Daykin. They were engaged on 14 February 2021 and were married in September 2022. They have two children: a son born in October 2021 and a daughter born in January 2026.

Harvey had an elder brother, who was nine years his senior and whom Harvey was very close to; the brothers shared a love of sport, comedy and politics. Her other roles include Winky in the comedy series Chickens. The sisters have appeared as sidekicks of Count Binface on election nights.

Works Books

Radio and podcasts – As writer and narrator – As writer and narrator – As writer

Musings