# Mark Lamarr
**Mark Lamarr** (born 1967 as Mark Jones) is an English comedian, television presenter, and radio DJ known for hosting the pop-music panel game *Never Mind the Buzzcocks* from 1996 to 2005 and serving as a team captain on Vic Reeves and [Bob Mortimer](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-mortimer)'s *Shooting Stars* from 1995.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/85634/mark-lamarr) His television persona, built around a rockabilly quiff and a sardonic, putdown-heavy manner, earned him tabloid nicknames such as "TV's Mr Nasty" and "TV's Mr Misery", while his live stand-up and compere work had a reputation for quickfire, audience-driven improvisation.[2](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/quiff-me-quick-mark-lamarr-is-giving-up-being-nasty-on-tv-s-the-word-to-concentrate-on-being-funny-on-stage-james-rampton-met-him-and-lived-1416522.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mark Jones, born 1967 in Swindon, Wiltshire; name changed for Equity purposes in 1985[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0482848/bio/) • [4](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html) |
| Breakthrough | Channel 4's *The Word* in 1992, after launching *The Big Breakfast*'s original outside broadcasts[4](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html) |
| Panel shows | Team captain on *Shooting Stars* (1995); host of *Never Mind the Buzzcocks*, series 1 to 17, 1996 to 2005[5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/never_mind_the_buzzcocks/about/) |
| Own series | *Mark Lamarr Leaving the 20th Century* (BBC2, 1999, 7 episodes); *Lamarr's Attacks* (2000, 7 episodes)[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/85634/mark-lamarr) |
| Writing | Co-wrote and script-edited *15 Storeys High* with Sean Lock and Martin Trenaman, credited as Mark Jones[6](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/mark_lamarr/) |
| Radio | BBC Radio 2 shows including *Shake, Rattle and Roll*, *Reggae*, *Alternative Sixties*, and *God's Jukebox*, which he left in 2010[7](https://www.godseternaljukebox.com/p/about.html) |
## Early life and stand-up
Lamarr was born Mark Jones in Swindon, Wiltshire; his mother was a cleaner and his father an engineer in a cake factory. He took the stage name for Equity purposes in 1985.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html) In the mid-1980s, Faber and Faber published one of his poems about "disenchanted youth", and he moved to London and began touring as a stand-up.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html)
His stand-up method was entirely improvised. He told *The Independent* in 1994 that he had never committed a single word of his act to paper over ten years on the circuit: "All of it has been ad-libbed at one point or another. Everything I've ever done has been written on stage."[2](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/quiff-me-quick-mark-lamarr-is-giving-up-being-nasty-on-tv-s-the-word-to-concentrate-on-being-funny-on-stage-james-rampton-met-him-and-lived-1416522.html) His material centered on storytelling, often of invented incidents he presented as his own; he noted that many audience members believed he had once been a bingo-caller, though he had been to bingo only once.[2](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/quiff-me-quick-mark-lamarr-is-giving-up-being-nasty-on-tv-s-the-word-to-concentrate-on-being-funny-on-stage-james-rampton-met-him-and-lived-1416522.html)
**Reputation as a compere.** Reviewers and fellow performers ranked his live work above his television persona. The *Guardian* said he had "finally ousted Arthur Smith as our finest compere", and Bob Mortimer called him "the best non-scripted, ad-libbing-style comedian there is".[2](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/quiff-me-quick-mark-lamarr-is-giving-up-being-nasty-on-tv-s-the-word-to-concentrate-on-being-funny-on-stage-james-rampton-met-him-and-lived-1416522.html) • [8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/on-the-mark-1326170.html) Harry Thompson, co-producer of *Never Mind the Buzzcocks*, praised his rapport with crowds, saying that as a compere "the audience have to want you back".[4](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html) A 1996 Comedy Store review noted the contrast between his reputation as "the Vinny Jones of comedy" and a stage manner that was largely ingratiating, with heckler putdowns as the exception.[9](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/comedy-mark-lamarr-show-comedy-store-london-1316832.html)
## Television career
In September 1992 Lamarr moved from the comedy circuit to help launch [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4)'s *The Big Breakfast*, doing the original outside broadcasts that involved knocking on strangers' doors around the country, and a month later became one of the presenters on the third series of the youth program *The Word*.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/on-the-mark-1326170.html) His conduct on *The Word* drew criticism: an interview with the dancehall artist [Shabba Ranks](https://www.edgepedia.org/shabba-ranks) included a heated exchange about homophobia that led to Lamarr receiving death threats, and he clashed physically with fellow presenter [Terry Christian](https://www.edgepedia.org/terry-christian).[2](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/quiff-me-quick-mark-lamarr-is-giving-up-being-nasty-on-tv-s-the-word-to-concentrate-on-being-funny-on-stage-james-rampton-met-him-and-lived-1416522.html) He left *The Word* in 1994, saying he was tired of being known chiefly as "The Word's Mark Lamarr".[2](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/quiff-me-quick-mark-lamarr-is-giving-up-being-nasty-on-tv-s-the-word-to-concentrate-on-being-funny-on-stage-james-rampton-met-him-and-lived-1416522.html)
**Shooting Stars.** In 1995 he became the captain of Team A on BBC2's surreal panel game *Shooting Stars*, joining Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Ulrika Jonsson, and [Matt Lucas](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-lucas) as the drumming baby George Dawes in his first full series.[10](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/shooting_stars/episodes/) On the show, Reeves and Mortimer's recurring jibes about his slicked-back quiff fixed the "Fifties throwback" label on him.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html) Lamarr later admitted he did not enjoy the role, in which his job was largely to look miserable while the hosts insulted him.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html) The show's producer, Alan Mark, said Lamarr was hired because "we knew he'd understand Vic and Bob totally, but play against it, though in a controllable way. He's a bit maverick, but he's totally produceable."[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/on-the-mark-1326170.html)
**Never Mind the Buzzcocks.** In 1996 Lamarr began hosting the BBC2 pop-music panel game *Never Mind the Buzzcocks*, with [Phill Jupitus](https://www.edgepedia.org/phill-jupitus) and Sean Hughes as team captains.[5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/never_mind_the_buzzcocks/about/) He hosted the show through series 17, leaving in 2005, and was credited as a producer on later series of his tenure; in total he hosted 157 episodes.[6](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/mark_lamarr/) • [11](https://www.archivtv.cz/-mark-lamarr) Harry Thompson described the chairman's task as coming "over as likeable while being rude to everyone present... You have to have authority and at the same time be funny".[4](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html) At the show's peak, Lamarr stated in an interview with the *Irish Times* that it was "the number one show on BBC2".[12](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/keeping-it-sharp-1.247123) After his departure the show used guest hosts before [Simon Amstell](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-amstell) became the permanent replacement in 2006.[5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/never_mind_the_buzzcocks/about/)
**Own series and other work.** In 1997 he presented Channel 4's *Planet Showbiz*, a magazine program about American culture.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html) In 1999 he hosted the seven-part BBC2 series *Mark Lamarr Leaving the 20th Century*, which covered "big issue" topics such as crime, drugs, and class with celebrity guests.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/85634/mark-lamarr) • [13](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/joking-apart-1104066.html) He followed it in 2000 with *Lamarr's Attacks*, another seven-episode topical series.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/85634/mark-lamarr) Working under his real name, Mark Jones, he co-wrote and script-edited [Sean Lock](https://www.edgepedia.org/sean-lock)'s sitcom *15 Storeys High* and appeared in it as the Silver Man.[6](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/mark_lamarr/) He also presented four episodes of *Top of the Pops* between September 1995 and November 1997.[14](https://totparchive.co.uk/presenter.php?name=mark-lamarr)
## Radio
On [BBC Radio 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-2) he presented shows devoted to vintage and alternative music, including *Shake, Rattle and Roll*, *Reggae*, *Alternative Sixties*, and *God's Jukebox*. In 2010 he stepped away from the BBC, bringing those shows to an end.[7](https://www.godseternaljukebox.com/p/about.html)
## Public image
The gap between Lamarr's television persona and his live manner was a recurring theme in press coverage. Peter Fincham, executive producer of *Never Mind the Buzzcocks*, described seeing him live as a "Damascene conversion": "live, he has this underlying warmth that surprises you. He is very sharp, but he's also warm."[15](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/funnier-on-his-feet-1293131.html) Lamarr himself resisted the misery-guts framing: "People come up to me and say, 'You're so miserable, you must hate Vic and Bob.' Give me strength. I have to say to them, 'I'm acting, and it's a comedy show.'"[15](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/funnier-on-his-feet-1293131.html) In a 1996 profile, friends and producers described a quietly professional worker who turned up on time and wanted the show to succeed, even as he claimed he would never be mainstream because he was "too spiky".[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/on-the-mark-1326170.html)
## References
1. [Mark Lamarr, TVmaze person page](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/85634/mark-lamarr)
2. [Quiff me quick: Mark Lamarr is giving up being nasty on TV's The Word, The Independent (26 July 1994)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/quiff-me-quick-mark-lamarr-is-giving-up-being-nasty-on-tv-s-the-word-to-concentrate-on-being-funny-on-stage-james-rampton-met-him-and-lived-1416522.html)
3. [Mark Lamarr - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0482848/bio/)
4. [Stand-Up and Be Counted, The Independent (2 May 1997)](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/standup-and-be-counted-1259364.html)
5. [About Never Mind The Buzzcocks, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/never_mind_the_buzzcocks/about/)
6. [Mark Lamarr, British Comedy Guide person page](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/mark_lamarr/)
7. [About, God's Eternal Jukebox](https://www.godseternaljukebox.com/p/about.html)
8. [On the Mark, The Independent (27 January 1996)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/on-the-mark-1326170.html)
9. [Comedy / Mark Lamarr Show Comedy Store, London, The Independent (1 February 1996)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/comedy-mark-lamarr-show-comedy-store-london-1316832.html)
10. [Shooting Stars episode guide, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/shooting_stars/episodes/)
11. [Mark Lamarr, ArchivTV filmography](https://www.archivtv.cz/-mark-lamarr)
12. [Keeping it sharp, The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/keeping-it-sharp-1.247123)
13. [Joking apart, The Independent (3 July 1999)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/joking-apart-1104066.html)
14. [Mark Lamarr, Presenter Profile, Top of the Pops Archive](https://totparchive.co.uk/presenter.php?name=mark-lamarr)
15. [Funnier on his feet, The Independent (9 November 1997)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/funnier-on-his-feet-1293131.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Television presenters and hosts › Comedy and variety hosts*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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