Jonathan Welford

After three years in banking Jonathan worked extensively within the property sector from 1995 with large blue chip companies such as Savills, Hambro as well as the well-regarded Cheshire Property Auction House, Meller Braggins. His work included running his own home staging consultancy under the title of Dear Jonny. In addition to this he launched and headed up a property management company, Charles James. 

From 2007 he started writing his column for Manchester Evening News, Urban Life magazine as a property Agony Uncle 'Dear Jonny'. In addition he has written many articles for other newspapers and variety of property and lifestyle magazines.

Jonathan presented the TV series Dear Jonny that appeared within the Homesmine show on Channel M. He has also appeared in many lifestyle TV shows for BBC 1, ITV and Channel 4 in productions as diverse as 'Homes Under The Hammer', 'Rachel Allen's Dinner Parties' and 'May The Best House Win'.

Jonathan stepped down from his partnership with Charles James in 2010 prior to his civil partnership and shortly after set off on a year long honeymoon travelling the globe and completing the comprehensive training to become a successful personal coach.  

The motivation to become a qualified coach was to adapt selling a lifestyle to helping individuals and couples to create their own lifestyle with the skills they already possessed.

During 2011 Jonathan completed his Masters in NLP Coaching and further therapy certification in Counselling, Psychotherapy and Clinical Hypnosis. 

He is joint partner in the Coaching and Therapy Practice, LifeWith, a practice that specialises with personal coaching with a leaning towards gay, lesbian and transgendered clients.  The core of the practice is in relationship and dating coaching, one of the biggest areas that most individuals have concerns and worries.

He is currently writing his a novel based on his life and the people he has met living within the diverse community in the gay village, Canal Street.  A publishing deal has been signed with Silver Publishing who has already published a supernatural orientated tale titled "The Cabin"  

Recently Jonathan has entered discussions with an American Production Company for a screenplay titled "The Affair" the intertwinning relationships of two couples.

In addition to this he has written, with his husband Rob Hardy, two relationship coaching books, "30 Day Dating Detox" and "Ex Extinction Programme", these were released in 2011 and "The Dating Expert" and "Gay Dating Expert", is set for publication by Sotto Voce Press within the first half of 2012.

From January 2012 he writes the weekly column for Manchester gay publication Canal Street, the relationship and dating column "Gay Dating Expert" and another Gay orienated weekly column is set to commence in America under the self same title.