Lee Mack

Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter.

He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, being a team captain on the BBC One comedy panel show Would I Lie to You?, hosting the Sky One panel show Duck Quacks Don't Echo, presenting the panel show They Think It's All Over, and hosting Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof (2022–) alongside Holly Willoughby.

He has also been a guest host on Have I Got News for You and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, a guest captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and a guest panellist on QI.

In 2021 he made his debut on the BBC Radio 4 panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

In 2022 he began hosting the ITV game show The 1% Club.

In 2024, he appeared on the West End stage as Peter in Steven Moffat's play The Unfriend.

Lee Gordon McKillop was born on 4 August 1968 in Southport.

He lived above a pub until he was 12, when his parents separated.

He went to Birkdale Primary Junior School (Bury Road), Stanley High School in Southport, and Everton High School in Blackburn.

On 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 would ride.

Mack then became a Bluecoat entertainer at the Pontins holiday resort at Hemsby in Norfolk.

He was sacked after appearing on stage drunk one night, forgetting a joke and insulting an audience member.

He then worked for six months at Pontins in Morecambe.

Mack went on to have various other jobs, and performed his first "open mic" slot in 1994, while studying at Brunel University, from where he graduated with a degree in Drama.

Within 18 months he was a full-time comedian.

Mack first came to prominence by winning So You Think You're Funny at the 1995 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Five years later at the festival, he was nominated for the Perrier Award Main Prize for his sketch comedy show, Lee Mack's New Bits, with Catherine Tate and Dan Antopolski.

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.

Mack was a cast member for ITV's The Sketch Show and featured in the American show 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.

However, it proved to be the show's final series.

His first sitcom Not Going Out for BBC One with Tim Vine (in which he plays Lee, the leading man) premiered on 6 October 2006.

The show has since returned for eleven more seasons, the most recent airing in 2023.

The show has won a Rose d'Or and RTS Award.

In 2007 he appeared on TV Heaven, Telly Hell.

Since 2007 Mack has been a team captain on the BBC One comedy panel show Would I Lie to You?.

He has also been guest host on Have I Got News for You six times, and was twice guest host on Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Mack has appeared on Live at the Apollo and 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, where he is the current Carrot in a Box champion.

In June 2011, Mack launched a new show, 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.

In June 2012, Mack was one of the compères at Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in London, introducing Cliff Richard, Ed Sheeran, and Madness.

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

From 2014 to 2017, Mack presented Duck Quacks Don't Echo, a comedy-based panel show for Sky1, with various celebrity guests.

In 2017, he made his stage debut in Molière's The Miser.

In 2018, Mack appeared in the Doctor Who episode "Kerblam!".

In June 2020, Mack announced his new sitcom, Semi-Detached.

He was also set to host a reality show named The Chop: Britain's Best Woodworker for Sky History.

However, the show was suspended shortly after its debut in October 2020, after allegations emerged that one of the series' contestants, promoted through the channel's social media pages, bore facial tattoos resembling Nazi symbolism.