Bob Mills is a true elder statesman of British stand-up comedy. The man who bridged the gap between the first wave of “alternative comedy” in the mid-eighties and the new laddism of the early ’90s, star Bob Mills is as popular today as when he first strolled on to the comedy circuit in 1985.
Now approaching his silver jubilee as a stand-up comic, Bob is one of the most recognisable and respected comedians in the business. His voice is pretty famous too as not a weekend goes past without Bob and his distinctive cockney drawl getting an airing not once but several times as either a host or guest on the numerous sports, comedy and current affairs that dominate the airwaves.
For although Bob Mills may have been born in
It is his love of football (although not necessarily Orient) and all sport that has enabled Bob as a comedian, to tap into the modern male (and many female) psyche because he is talking the language of the people on the terraces, streets and settees of
He started out as a hotel valet (albeit a slow one) in that salubrious epitome of London, King's Cross, before a visit to his friendly neighbourhood stand-up comedy club turned his world upside down when he discovered he could make people laugh.
It was then that Bob Mills found himself the man-of-the-moment, bringing some much-needed fresh new blood to the now not-so-alternative comedy scene, and at the vanguard of what become known as the “new lad” movement along with his long-term friend and colleague Danny Baker and other torch-bearers like Keith Allen, Chris Evans, Jack Dee and Jonathan Ross.
Bob Mill’s love of football, comedy and modern culture soon saw him splitting his time between life as an acclaimed and in demand stand-up comedian and an equally popular TV host. Hosting the first of cult shows like There’s Only One Brian Moore, Dial Midnight and In Bed With Medinner, which ran for a remarkable four series, all for LWT, and then more mainstream shows like Win, Lose or Draw for ITV and Not A Lot Of People Know That on BBC1.
As well as a successful host and stand-up comedian, Bob Mills is also an acclaimed writer of comedy and drama and so much in between. He created two series of ITV's award winning comedy Bob Martin, starring Michael Barrymore and Keith Allen. He also co-wrote and produced Stan the Man, starring another friend John Thomson and Gaynor Faye, and created the festive flagship drama Christmas Lights and the six-part comedy spin-off Northern Lights, both starring Mark Benton and Robson Green. He has also penned an episode of Shameless and the screenplay for the feature film Pierrepoint, starring Timothy Spall as the infamous hangman of the 20th century.
On his debut as a film producer on My Beautiful Son, Bob Mills helped Julie Walters to a Best Actress BAFTA, and also picked up his own coveted nomination from the Academy along the way.
In 1995, Bob Mills created and starred in what he describes as his own finest work to date, The Show for Channel 4 - eight one hour programme fly-on-the-wall documentary about the making of a real chat show. Like a non-fictional Larry Saunders Show, the show was years ahead of its time and confirmed Mills as one of the finest comic writers of all time. The show is often pinpointed as the template for much of the reality TV that rules the schedules today. So it’s Bob’s fault then.
One of his greatest loves after stand-up comedy and writing is radio. Over the years, Bob has presented his own shows for BBC London, GLR, Talksport and Radio 5Live and he regularly works with and covers for Danny Baker. He's a regular popular guest on Radio 5’s Fighting Talk, The Gabby Logan Show and Loose Ends (BBC Radio 4). He is also co-host of The Christian O'Connell Solution on Sunday mornings
He has also hosted several music and comedy shows on VH-1, including The Vinyl Years, Look Back In Angora, Ten Of The Best, Mills 'n' Tunes amongst others. He also appeared on The Weakest Link Comedian's Special.
