Born Mark Jones in Swindon on 7 January, 1967 into a working class family with 3 elder sisters, he was educated at Park South Infants and Junior Schools and then Oakfield School. Mark passed 5 O'Levels and dropped out of school at 17. As soon as he was old enough, he left for the bright lights of London.

In 1985 he was asked to perform at a Young Writers' Festival after the publication of a poem and from there he stepped on to the comedy circuit. Following success as the warm-up act for a string of top alternative comedians, he was invited to appear on Tonite With Jonathan Ross, which led to Channel 4's The Big Breakfast where he stayed for six months and made his name as a roving reporter.

He's best known for his dour turn as the resident 50s throwback on BBC 2's Shooting Stars, and as the razor-sharp compere of Never Mind The Buzzcocks. He has also worked on Edinburgh Nights, Top of the Pops, The Late Show and Mark Lamarr Leaving the 20th Century. He's hosted his own show on BBC GLR, and has presented on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 5 Live.

If you have a radio handy, you might want to listen to Mark on BBC Radio 2 at various times!