Lee Mack

Lee Mack
Born Lee Gordon McKillop
4 August 1968
Southport, Lancashire, England
Spouse(s) Tara (m. 2005)
Children 3
Lee Mack's voice
from the BBC programme Desert Island Discs, 29 September 2013.[1]

Website
Official website

Lee Gordon McKillop, known as Lee Mack (born 4 August 1968) is an English stand-up comedian and actor[2] best known for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out playing the main character, also called Lee. Since 2007, Lee has been a team captain on the BBC One comedy panel show Would I Lie to You?. He is also the host of the Sky 1 show Duck Quacks Don't Echo.

He has been a regular panellist on Have I Got News For You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI.

Early life

Mack was born in Southport, Lancashire and lived there above a pub until he was 12 when his parents separated and he moved to Blackburn, Lancashire.[2][3] He went to Birkdale County Junior School, Stanley High School in Southport[4] and Everton High School in Blackburn.[5] Upon leaving school, Mack worked in a bingo hall and as a stable boy. After working at the stable of racehorse trainer Ginger McCain in Southport for three days, he asked if he could ride one of the horses, to which the trainer agreed. Without realising, Mack then chose Red Rum as the first horse he'd ever ridden.[2][6] Mack then became a blue coat for Pontins at Hemsby near Great Yarmouth.[2]

After appearing on stage drunk one night, and calling an audience member a "cunt", he was sacked from the Hemsby team, and did six months at Pontins in Morecambe.[2]

Mack went on to have various other jobs, and did his first 'open mic' slot in 1994, while studying at Brunel University from which he graduated with a degree in drama.[7] Within 18 months he was a full-time comedian.[2]

Career

Mack first came to prominence by winning So You Think You're Funny at the 1995 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Since then, Mack has played the part of Graham, the security guard in the original radio version of The Mighty Boosh, and also has his own radio show on BBC Radio 2 called The Lee Mack Show, which features varying celebrities co-hosting the show.

Television

Lee was a cast member for ITV's The Sketch Show.[2] and featured in the American version of the same name.

In 2005, Mack presented They Think It's All Over, a sports based comedy panel game, formerly presented by Nick Hancock.[2] However, it proved to be the show's final series.[2] In 2007 he appeared on TV Heaven, Telly Hell.

His first sitcom Not Going Out for BBC One with Tim Vine (in which he plays Lee, the central character) premiered on 6 October 2006. The show has since returned for a second series (September 2007), a third series (January 2009), a fourth series (February 2011) and a fifth series (April 2012). It returned for a sixth series in the spring of 2013 and a seventh, which aired in 2014. The show has won a Rose d'Or and RTS Award.

Since 2007, Mack has been a team captain on the BBC One comedy panel show Would I Lie to You?.[2] He has also been guest host on Have I Got News for You 5 times: 23 May 2008, 12 June 2009, 1 April 2010, 2 December 2010 and 28 October 2011. He has twice been guest host on Never Mind the Buzzcocks; 9 December 2010 and 22 October 2012.

Mack has contributed to Comic Relief. Mack has also appeared on Jack Dee Live at the Apollo.

In June 2011, he launched a new show entitled Lee Mack's All Star Cast for BBC One. It features members of the audience taking part in silly games to get a spot in a sketch at the end of the show.[8] In June 2012, Mack was one of the compères at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in London.

In March 2013, Lee appeared on the panel on an episode of Let's Dance for Comic Relief with Arlene Phillips and Greg James.[9]

Since 7 February 2014, Lee has presented Duck Quacks Don't Echo, a comedy-based panel show for Sky1.

Live tours

Mack went on tour in 2006 and filmed his first live DVD at the Bloomsbury Theatre, which was released the following year. In spring 2010 Mack embarked on his "Going Out" tour. Extra dates were added for autumn 2010 due to his spring tour being sold out well in advance. Going Out Live, his second live DVD, was filmed at the Hammersmith Apollo and was released in November. In December 2010 he performed at the Royal Variety Performance.[10]

Personal life

Lee has been married to his wife Tara since 2005. The couple live in Surrey and have three children.[11]

In February 2009, along with other British entertainers, Mack signed an open letter to The Times on the Bahá'í leaders then on trial in Iran.[12]

Mack said in an interview with The Guardian[13] that his first foray into comedy was doing Bobby Ball impressions at his school when he was 15. He is a supporter of Blackburn Rovers and occasionally visits Ewood Park to watch games.[14] At one point, Mack shared a flat with Noel Fielding.

In July 2012, Mack received an honorary doctorate from Brunel University.[15]

In September 2012, Mack stated that he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.[16]

Also in 2012 he published his autobiography, Mack the Life.

Mack is an avid darts fan and regularly plays with his friend Tim Vine. Both men appeared on the debut series of Let's Play Darts for Comic Relief, facing each other in the final, with Mack and his partner Martin Adams beating Vine and his partner Darryl Fitton.

Filmography

Television
Year Show Role Note(s)
1997-1998 Gas Himself
2001-2004 The Sketch Show Himself
2005-2010 Live at the Apollo Himself
2005-2006 They Think It's All Over Host
2006— Not Going Out Lee
2007— Would I Lie to You? Regular Team Captain
2008-2011 Have I Got News for You Guest presenter 5 episodes
2009-2012 QI Panellist 5 episodes
2010, 2012 Never Mind the Buzzcocks Guest presenter 2 episodes
2011 Lee Mack's All Star Cast Presenter
2013 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Guest Team Captain 4 episodes, fill-in team captain
2014 Duck Quacks Don't Echo Presenter
The Smiths Michael Smith Pilot
2014 The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night Himself
2015 Let's Play Darts for Comic Relief Competitor Won the show
Stand-up DVDs
Title Released Notes
Live 26 November 2007 Live at London's Bloomsbury Theatre
Going Out Live 22 November 2010 Live at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo
Hit The Road Mack 24 November 2014

Awards

BAFTA TV Awards

Year Recipient Award Result
2002 The Sketch Show Best Comedy Programme or Series style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won

British Comedy Awards

Year Recipient Award Result
2001 Lee Mack Best Comedy Newcomer style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
2006 Best Live Stand Up Tour style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
2007 Best TV Comedy Actor style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
Not Going Out Best New TV Comedy style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
2010 Would I Lie to You Best Comedy Panel Show style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won
2011 style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
2012 Lee Mack Best Male Television Comic style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won
People's Choice Award style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
2013 Would I Lie to You Best Comedy Panel Show style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won
Lee Mack Best Male Television Comic style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won
People's Choice Award style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
2014 Would I Lie to You Best Comedy Panel Show style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won
Would I Lie to You Best Comedy Moment style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
Lee Mack Best Male Television Comic style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won
King or Queen of Comedy style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated

RTS Television Awards

Year Recipient Award Result
2007 Not Going Out Breakthrough Award - Behind The Screen style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won

Rose d'Or

Year Recipient Award Result
2007 Not Going Out Sitcom style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won

References

  1. "Lee Mack". Desert Island Discs. 29 September 2013. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Maxwell, Dominic (24 November 2007). "Mack on the Attack". The Times magazine (London). Retrieved 8 February 2008.
  3. Armstrong, Stephen (9 January 2005). "Comedy: This stand-up's got legs". The Sunday Times (London). Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  4. Rampton, James (8 May 2004). "Comedy: Pick of the Week". The Independent. (archived at findarticles.com). Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  5. "Return of the Mack as Not Going Out returns". Lancashire Telegraph (Newsquest (North West)). 5 January 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  6. Townend, Marcus (19 December 2007). "It's a Rum do for joker Lee Mack". Mail Online. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  7. Mack, Lee (2012). Mack The Life, Bantam Press. ISBN 0593069420.
  8. "Lee Mack and Penn & Teller ratings soar as Marriage Ref fails to impress". Metro. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  9. "Lets Dance for Comic Relief - Series 5 - Episode 3". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  10. Simon, Jane (16 December 2010). "Royal Variety Performance". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  11. "Q and A with comedian Lee Mack". Daily Mail. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  12. "Stand up for Iran’s Baha’is - Voices from the arts call for the imprisoned Baha'i leaders in Iran to receive a fair trial". The Times (London). 2009-02-26. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  13. Hodgson, Michelle (31 January 2009). "My family values". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  14. Clough, Dan (15 April 2014). "East Lancs comedian Lee Mack in hunt for old Blackburn pub sign". Lancashire Telegraph (Newsquest Media Group). Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  15. "Comedian Lee Mack awarded honorary degree by Brunel University". Brunel University London. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  16. The One Show, 28 September 2012

External links