“I played for Middlesbrough's youth team. At the age of 16, I went into a shed at the training ground and was told that they weren't signing me on, so that was the end of that dream. Football was my life. I played football when I got to school, football every break and football as soon as I got home.”

English comedian, television presenter, writer and actor

Bob Mortimer is an English comedian, television presenter, writer and actor. He is best known as one half of the comedy double act Reeves and Mortimer, alongside Vic Reeves, and for his work on television across panel shows and other comedy formats. He appears with Paul Whitehouse in Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, and has also been a familiar presence on programmes such as Would I Lie to You? and Taskmaster. In 2026, he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance for his work on Last One Laughing.