Bob Mortimer

Robert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959 in Middlesbrough) is an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves (see Vic and Bob). He owns the independent production company Pett Productions with Vic Reeves and Lisa Clark and is the voice of Churchill the Dog in adverts for Churchill Insurance.

Early life

Mortimer's biscuit salesman father died, very young, in a car crash and as a result he and his three brothers were brought up by their mother, Eunice. He attended Acklam High School on the site of Acklam Hall in Acklam, Middlesbrough. He trialled for local professional football club Middlesbrough, but was not able to take the sport up due to arthritis. He left school with three A-levels and went on to study law at the Universities of Sussex and Leicester. There, Mortimer became involved in political causes and the punk movement, starting a band called Dog Dirt. After leaving university with an LLM in Welfare Law, he moved to London and became a solicitor for Southwark Council. He then moved to a private practice.

Partnership with Vic Reeves

In 1986 Mortimer went to the Goldsmith's Tavern in New Cross, London to see a new show by a comedian called Vic Reeves. Mortimer was impressed by the performance, particularly the character Tappy Lappy, which was Reeves attempting to tap dance whilst wearing a Bryan Ferry mask and planks on his feet. Mortimer approached Reeves after the show, and the two began writing material for the next week's show together. They also became good friends, even forming a band called The Potter's Wheel. Mortimer began to perform on the show, which was christened Vic Reeves Big Night Out, creating such characters as the Singing Lawyer, Graham Lister, Judge Nutmeg, and the Man With the Stick.

The show became very successful in south London and eventually outgrew Goldsmith's Tavern, moving in 1988 to the Albany Empire in Deptford. Mortimer soon became an integral part of the performance, providing him with a weekly break from the legal work which had begun to disillusion him.

Mortimer and Reeves made their television debut on the short-lived 1989 comedy/chat show One Hour with Jonathan Ross, in the game show segment known as knock down ginger.

Later that year they made their first television pilot together, Vic Reeves Big Night Out, in late 1989. The television show remained true to the nightclub act's variety show format. Mortimer took a 10-week break from his legal job to film the series and never returned.

The two later created a one-off pilot for a sitcom called The Weekenders (1992). This was followed by the sketch show The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer (1993) and Shooting Stars, a comedy panel show. The pilot episode of Shooting Stars aired in December 1993. After being commissioned, it ran for 5 series between 1995 and 2002, with a special anniversary edition broadcast in December 2008. A 6th series was broadcast in late 2009, followed by a 7th series in mid-2010, and 8th in 2011.

In 1999, their second sketch show was broadcast, Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer. A year later, Mortimer played the part of Jeff Randall in Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), opposite Reeves and Emilia Fox as Marty and Jeannie Hopkirk.

In 2003, Mortimer and Reeves were listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, they were voted the 9th greatest comedy act of all time by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

In November 2007, Mortimer appeared as Reeves' hairdresser, Carl, in the weekly radio-based sketch show on BBC Radio 2, entitled Vic Reeves' House Arrest. The first episode was broadcast on 17 November 2007 and the series ran for six episodes.^[1]

On 27 February 2008, Reeves announced that he and Mortimer were working together on a new sitcom about super heroes who get their powers through a malfunctioning telegraph pole.^[2]

Solo career & appearances

• In 1997, in collaboration with Chris Rea, Mortimer recorded Rea's hit "Let's Dance" with his favourite football team, Middlesbrough F.C.. The single reached #44 in the UK charts.

• In 1996 / 97, he appeared on an episode of Mash and Peas with Matt Lucas, David Walliams and Reece Shearsmith, in a sketch spoofing Seinfeld, called I'm Bland... yet all my friends are krazy!.

• In July 2002, Mortimer fought and defeated Les Dennis in the BBC's first Celebrity Boxing match, as part of Sport Relief 2002.

• In 2002, Mortimer presented the Channel 4 list show The 100 Greatest World Cup Moments of All Time!. An updated show, again hosted by Mortimer, was broadcast by the channel in 2010, to coincide with the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

• He produced and presented the second match, The Fight, a year later, which saw Grant Bovey face Ricky Gervais.

• In 2005, he hosted his first major TV series without Vic Reeves, a comedy panel game for BBC One, called 29 Minutes of Fame, which featured regular guests such as Jo Brand.

• Also in 2005, Mortimer voiced the character of Father Nicholas in the animated BBC Three series Popetown. The show was not broadcast by the channel, for fear of offending Catholic viewers, though it saw a DVD release later that year.^[3]

• Mortimer co-wrote the hit BBC Three television sketch comedy Tittybangbang with Jill Parker. Tittybangbang starred Lucy Montgomery and Debbie Chazen, with Tony Way, and ran for three series between 2006 and 2007.

• He has appeared on BBC Two panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 3 occasions to date - in 1996 as a team-mate of Sean Hughes; in 2000 as a team-mate of Phil Jupitus; and in 2008 as a team captain.

• In April 2010, he appeared on the Sky1 panel show A League of Their Own, as a team-mate of Andrew Flintoff.

• Mortimer is now penning his first novel, provisionally titled "Have Her Over My Hedge (You've Never Trimmed It)", with Charlie Higson.

• He is currently writing a sitcom for the BBC, which will star Mackenzie Crook and Iain Lee.

Personal life

Mortimer is married to Lisa Matthews and has two children, Harry (b. March 1997) and Tom (b. August 1998). He lives in Dover, Kent.

Mortimer suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, which gives him great pain when he is stressed, especially before making a TV series or embarking on a tour. On those occasions, he controls the illness with steroids.^[4]

Mortimer is a life long fan of Middlesbrough F.C.

References