Robert Edward Mills (born 30 June 1957) is an English comedian and broadcaster, who has appeared in the television series ''

In Bed with Medinner ''In Bed with Medinner'' is a late-night British TV programme starring Bob Mills (comedian), Bob Mills and originally broadcast in the 1990s. It is a precursor to the contemporary ''Harry Hill's TV Burp'', Russell Brand's ''Ponderland'' and Padd ...

'' and ''

The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** Sp ...

''.

Early life

Mills was born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and attended Chester City Grammar School. After a very short spell of training for the Merchant Navy, he quit and worked as a valet in King's Cross, London and as a Hoffman dry cleaning presser operator, driver and delivery man. After seeing

Kevin Day Kevin Day (born 3 May 1961 in London) is a British stand up comedian, comedy writer and sports presenter. He came to prominence in the British alternative comedy stand up scene of the late eighties and early nineties, playing clubs like The Comed ...

and Eddie Zibbin (

Pat Condell Patrick Condell (born 23 November 1949) is a British writer, polemicist, and former stand-up comedian. In his early career, he wrote and performed in alternative comedy shows during the 1980s and 1990s in London, winning the Time Out Comedy Awa ...

) at the Market Tavern in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

in 1983, he decided to become a comedian and was a mainstay for the British 'stand-up' circuit for several years.

TV career

In 1983 Mills played a villain as Lon's Bodyguard in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' opposite

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...

as The Doctor and Martin Clunes as Lon. In the 1990s Mills hosted the daytime quiz show '' Win, Lose or Draw'' on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

and the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s programme ''

Games World ''Games World'' was a British entertainment programme that aired on Sky One originally from 1 March 1993 to 10 March 1995 with Bob Mills as host, and then revived from 9 March 1998 to 1999 with Andy Collins as host. Format The main body of t ...

'' on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

. He graduated to his own stand-up comedy show on ITV, ''In Bed With MeDinner'', well known for its introduction, a remake of the opening credits of '' The Prisoner'' with Mills in the place of

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

. He is also a writer, having written the

Michael Barrymore Michael Ciaran Parker (born 4 May 1952), known by his stage name Michael Barrymore, is an English actor, comedian and television presenter of game shows and light entertainment programmes on British television in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Th ...

comedy ''Bob Martin''. He created and wrote the Robson Green vehicle '' Christmas Lights'', and the spin-off series '' Northern Lights''. He also wrote the screenplay for the film '' Pierrepoint''.

Radio career

Bob Mills presented his own weekday programme in the 1990s on

Greater London Radio BBC Radio London is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM broadcasting, FM frequency, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, ...

from 10pm to 1am. This was during the period when other comedians also had their own programmes on GLR such as

Mark Lamarr Mark Lamarr (born Mark Jones, 7 January 1967) is an English comedian, writer, radio DJ, and television presenter. He was a team captain on '' Shooting Stars'' from 1995 to 1997, and hosted ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' from 1996 to 2005. Early li ...

and

Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is an English stand-up and improv comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster. Jupitus was a team captain on all but one BBC Two-broadcast episode of music quiz ''N ...

. He is a regular pundit on

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

's '' Fighting Talk'', and was the holder of the Copa de Croix Saint Simon, awarded to the annual FT Champion of Champions, having defeated

Martin Kelner Martin Barry Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian, singer, actor and TV presenter, whose primary career is in radio presenting. He has spent over 40 years hosting radio shows, mostly for the BBC, in particular Radio Leeds. He has be ...

in the 2010 Final. This, he recently revealed, is his "most prestigious achievement in a life of anonymity." He lost the 2011 final to Tom Watt. On 7 October 2011 Mills made his debut on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History ''The News Quiz'' was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently, it was chaired by Barry Took from 1979 to 1981, Simon Hoggart from ...

''. He has subsequently returned for further appearances. He appeared on Talksport co-presenting with Jim White between 10am and 1pm. Mills also hosted a weekly three-hour radio programme called "Tragedy Plus Time" on TalkRadio each Sunday, in which comedy and light entertainment were among the subjects discussed.

Personal life

Mills is a supporter of Leyton Orient and is frequently mentioned in his radio broadcasts, he has also written a regular column in the Leyton Orient matchday programme. His uncle Eric Lee played in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Chester City.'Bob Mills', Leyton Orient vs. Chester City matchday programme, 23 April 2005, pg. 49

References

External links

Youtube In Bed With Medinner site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Bob 1957 births Living people English male comedians People educated at Chester City Grammar School People from Chester English television presenters English radio personalities People from Harringay