They have performed on a number of television programmes as a double act, and have also worked alone or in collaboration with other people. (For their work outside of the Reeves & Mortimer double act, see
Vic Reeves and
Bob Mortimer.)
Early years Jim Moir's comedy career began in
New Cross,
London, in the mid-1980s. Having tried out various stage names, he settled on
Vic Reeves and began a show called ''Vic Reeves' Big Night Out'', first at Winston's Wine Bar in Deptford, then at The
Goldsmiths Tavern. At Goldsmith's he met and began working with
Bob Mortimer, and the show then moved to an even bigger venue, the
Albany Theatre in
Deptford, in 1989. The show began to attract various well-known audience members, such as
Jonathan Ross and
Alan Yentob and collaborators such as
Charlie Higson and
Paul Whitehouse. Few recordings of early
Big Night Out live shows exist, though a video was made available to members of the original
fan club in the mid-1990s, containing material and characters very similar to those that made it to the later TV show.
Television Jonathan Ross played a large part in Reeves' first TV appearances, which included Reeves hanging suspended from the ceiling during an episode of
The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross (1988). His company,
Channel X, brought
Vic Reeves Big Night Out to
Channel 4 as a six-part series in 1990. The show quickly attained a cult following. A
New Year's Eve special bridging 1990/91 followed (in which
Kim Wilde made an appearance). This was followed by a second eight-part series in 1991.
Big Night Out was presented as a parodic talent show/chat show over which Reeves presided as a supposedly famous North-Eastern English television and nightclub compere and personality; leading proceedings from behind a large prop-strewn desk, singing, quipping, and interacting in an increasingly chaotic manner with a succession of bizarre guests and contestants. Mortimer played a number of established and continually appearing characters - The Man With The Stick (who wore a paper helmet daubed with drawings of what he had witnessed during the last week, and carried a stick with a mystery item attached to the end), Graham Lister (Reeves' humourless and pedantic nemesis, who regularly entered the talent show Novelty Island with a series of dreadful acts), the perpetually cheery Wavy Davy (who specialised in waving hello and goodbye to people) and Judge Lionel Nutmeg (a judge who presided over the ''That's Justice'' segment of the show). Together, Reeves and Mortimer also performed as a number of double acts, including Donald and Davey Stott (two nervous moustachioed brothers from the North-East with high-pitched voices, who would recreate popular
television game shows); Tinker's Rucksack (a duo of folk-singing ramblers, one of whom was conducting an affair with the other's wife), and the Ponderers (a pair of absurdist thinkers dressed as Ancient Greek philosophers, who communicated only in noises and applied their minds to taking decisions on ridiculous destructive actions). In addition to Reeves and Mortimer, the other mainstay of the programme was Les (played by Fred Aylward), Vic's bald, lab-coat-clad assistant who never spoke, loved
spirit levels and had a fear of chives.
Sketch shows In 1993, Reeves and Mortimer transferred from Channel 4 to
BBC Two (after filming a pilot music show called Popadoodledandy), writing and appearing in
The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, indicating the rise in Mortimer's standing from sidekick to Reeves' equal. The programmes were more slick and scripted than their Channel 4 predecessors. Two series of six episodes each were made, and most of the original
Big Night Out format was abandoned, although various actors returned in new roles, including
Caroline Aherne,
Charlie Higson (
The Fast Show) and
Matt Lucas (
Little Britain).
Quiz shows In 1993 a pilot episode of
Shooting Stars was screened on BBC Two as part of the
At Home with Vic and Bob evening of programming. It began running as a regular series in 1995. Maintaining their bizarre and irreverent style, the pair played host to two teams of celebrity guests (captained each week by
Mark Lamarr and
Ulrika Jonsson, and later
Will Self, and further
Jack Dee) answering what can be loosely described as general knowledge questions. They were also accompanied by regular appearances from Lucas as drumming baby George Dawes. The quiz element of the show always played second fiddle to the comedic aspects. Two series of Reeves and Mortimer's second quiz followed in 1999. Entitled
Families at War, it featured two families competing in bizarre tasks on a loose
Shooting Stars theme. The show was far more mainstream, less comedy-based, and obviously designed for comfortable Saturday evening BBC1 viewing. When asked, in November 2007, about bringing back former shows, Reeves also expressed his opinion that a second series of
Catterick was highly unlikely. However, he said he would be very happy to bring back
Shooting Stars for a sixth series. On 27 February 2008, whilst on a tour of the North East region to support the
Learning and Skills Council's Apprenticeship Week, he added "We might be doing
Shooting Stars again – it depends on the BBC". In July 2008, the BBC confirmed that they had commissioned a one-off Christmas Special of
Shooting Stars along with an additional "best-of" episode featuring interviews and outtakes, to mark the show's 15 year anniversary. Also confirmed were the return of Reeves, Mortimer and Matt Lucas (as George Dawes), and that the special would be produced by
Pett Productions, Reeves and Mortimer's own production company. It was filmed at
BBC Television Centre in London on 28 November 2008, and broadcast on BBC Two on 30 December 2008, along with the anniversary programme. Ulrika Jonsson returned as captain of Team B, with
Jack Dee appearing as the new captain of Team A.
Dizzee Rascal,
Kate Garraway,
Christine Walkden and
Dragons' Den's Peter Jones were the guests. This Christmas Special spawned the third incarnation of
Shooting Stars, which included a sixth series in 2009, a seventh series in 2010 and another Christmas special airing on 30 December 2010. An eighth series of the show was shown on BBC 2 in 2011. The show has since been axed by the BBC. Shortly after the axing of
Shooting Stars by the BBC, Reeves and Mortimer produced a one-off quiz show for Channel 4 in 2012,
Lucky Sexy Winners. The new show followed a very similar format to
Shooting Stars except that there were no teams, only three celebrities competing individually. Dan Skinner, who portrayed the character Angelos Epithemiou on
Shooting Stars, brought a new character, John Meringue, to
Lucky Sexy Winners.
Sitcom and drama In 1992, Reeves and Mortimer made their first brief detour into sitcoms by writing and recording a pilot episode of
The Weekenders, a one-off pilot for Channel 4's
Bunch of Five season.
The Human League vocalist
Phil Oakey, and the future
Fast Show trio of
Paul Whitehouse,
John Thomson and
Simon Day, all co-starred. In August 2003, Reeves and Mortimer appeared in
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands as Plonko the Clown and Kung-Fu Clown. In 2004, they appeared in
Churchill: The Hollywood Years as Bendle and Potter. As of 2018, they were producing
The Glove alongside regular collaborators such as
Matt Berry and
Morgana Robinson. In November 2022 it was revealed that actor Brian Cox had joined the cast of The Glove.
Music Reeves and Mortimer first appeared on
Jools Holland's single "
Holy Cow" in 1990, singing backing vocals. The following year, Reeves collaborated with
The Wonder Stuff to cover "
Dizzy", originally released in 1969 by
Tommy Roe. The song reached number one and spawned a spin-off full-length album on
Island Records,
I Will Cure You, which featured re-recorded songs from
Big Night Out, cover versions and new material. A companion video titled
Four Golden Memories was released, which featured videos for "Dizzy" and Reeves's other singles "
Born Free" and "
Abide With Me", plus live versions of "Dizzy" (filmed on tour the previous year) and "Meals on Wheels". The pair collaborated with
EMF to cover
The Monkees' sixties classic "
I'm a Believer" in 1995. The cover reached number three in the British charts, and also appeared in a trailer for the movie,
Shrek. Their cover was also referenced in the movie's version sung by
Eddie Murphy at the end.
Books •
And Away... - autobiography -
Bob Mortimer,
Simon & Schuster, 2021 •
Vic Reeves Art Book - Vic Reeves, Unbound, 2020 •
Three Men in a Boat -
Jerome K. Jerome,
Vintage Classics, (illustrated by Vic Reeves), 2011 •
Me:Moir - autobiography - Vic Reeves,
Virgin Books, 2006 •
Sunshine on Putty: The Golden Age of British Comedy from Vic Reeves to The Office - Ben Thompson, Fourth Estate,
HarperCollins, 2004 •
Sun Boiled Onions -
Vic Reeves,
Michael Joseph Ltd, 1999 •
Reeves & Mortimer - biography by Bruce Dessau,
Orion, 1998 •
Shooting Stars, The Game for You to Play at Home - for Players Aged 4-84,
BBC Worldwide Publishing, 1996 •
The Smell of Reeves & Mortimer, Fantail Books, Penguin Books, 1993 •
Vic Reeves Big Night In, Fantail Books,
Penguin Group, 1991 ==DVD and VHS==