Mike Bubbins
Mike Bubbins (born 18 April 1972)[1] is a Welsh comedian, writer and actor.[2] He has appeared in various TV projects as himself and acted in several BBC sitcoms. Bubbins makes regular appearances on radio and has performed stand-up comedy throughout the UK, supporting Rhod Gilbert and Rich Hall.[3] Bubbins has performed his stand-up show Retrosexual Male at the Edinburgh Festival and appeared on Stand Up at BBC Wales.[4]
In April 2024, Bubbins' sitcom Mammoth, which he co-wrote and in which he is the lead actor, premiered on BBC Two.
Early life
[edit]Bubbins was born in Barry, South Wales, and attended Barry Boys' Comprehensive. He lived in Canada for three years before returning to Wales to attend UWIC (now Cardiff Metropolitan University) as a mature student.[5]
Career
[edit]Before fame
[edit]As a schoolboy, Bubbins played rugby union as a flanker. In an interview with The Rugby Journal,[5] Bubbins spoke about why he was not picked for Cardiff Rugby and therefore, the Wales national rugby union team:
I was a real idiot. I had a short fuse and would say the wrong things to the wrong people. I had a big falling out with John Scott, who was the Cardiff coach when I was 18 or 19. I was a flanker and I wanted to get in the first team at Cardiff even though Richie Collins, who was playing for Wales at the time, wasn't even starting. I said, 'put me in the first team, what are you doing?' John said, 'well, internationals aren't even in the first team.' I said, 'I'm better than them, put me in the first team'. I'd already ballsed up school and now I'd now ballsed up youth rugby. So, I went to Canada and enjoyed myself for three or four years, before returning to UWIC as a mature student.
Bubbins is a former PE Teacher, and has performed as an Elvis impersonator.[6]
Television
[edit]Bubbins has made various appearances on television as himself, in the documentary Rhod Gilbert: Stand Up to Shyness and on shows such as Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier and Eat Your Heart Out With Nick Helm. He acted in BBC sitcoms, including Warren, where he played Bob and Josh, where he played the angry driving instructor Huw. He also played Wyn, part of the Wow Wales husband and wife corporate directors team with Mari Beard as long-suffering wife Charlotte, in BBC Wales sitcom Tourist Trap. He played an exaggerated version of himself alongside John Rutledge (Eggsy of Goldie Lookin Chain) in a spoof paranormal investigation show The Unexplainers on television, radio and a spin-off podcast.
In 2021, Bubbins wrote and starred in a sitcom pilot for BBC Wales, called Mammoth, combining his experiences as a physical education teacher with his love of the 1970s.[7] The BBC ordered three more episodes, which aired on BBC Two in 2024. The show has been commissioned for a second series.[8]
In early 2023, Bubbins appeared on Richard Osman's House of Games, winning his week.[9][10] In 2024, he was a panellist for episode eight, series 17 of Would I Lie to You?.[11]
Radio
[edit]Bubbins has been a guest on BBC Radio Wales panel show What's The Story", which hosted their coverage of the Machynlleth Comedy Festival from 2012 to 2018 and presented and starred in his own show Mike Bubbins: Day Tripper. He co-starred in five series of The Unexplainers with John Rutledge, which subsequently moved to television and had a podcast spin-off. He made several appearances as a guest on BBC 5 Live's Fighting Talk and Blood on the Track and has played various characters on Lucy Beaumont's BBC Radio 4/Radio 2 sitcom To Hull and Back. He played Mr. Lazarus in BBC Radio 4 comedy drama Dangerous Visions: Kafka's Metamorphosis.[12]
In the summer of 2021 Bubbins hosted the Nothing Beats the 70s show on BBC Radio Wales drawing on his love of the 1970s, asking his guests to try and disprove his theory that the music and fashion of the 70s made it the best decade.[13]
Podcasting
[edit]Bubbins co-hosts The Socially Distant Sports Bar, with fellow Welsh comedian Elis James and sports journalist, Steff Garrero.[14] He and Rutledge also host the Demon Seed podcast.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Mike Bubbins on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ "Comedian plays hometown gig in Barry!". Barry And District News. 11 June 2010.
- ^ "The Kings and I".
- ^ "Mike Bubbins: a stand-up blogs from Edinburgh Fringe festival". WalesOnline. 17 August 2009.
- ^ a b Rugby Journal, The. "Rugby Lives: Mike Bubbins". The Rugby Journal. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021.
- ^ "Mike Bubbins". Archived from the original on 5 November 2020.
- ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Mammoth - BBC1 Wales Sitcom". British Comedy Guide.
- ^ "Hit BBC comedy Mammoth to return for second series". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Dessau, Bruce. "Richard Osman's House of Games – This Week's Guests". Beyond The Joke.
- ^ This Is Force, Jack. "People Are In Tears". Twitter.
- ^ "BBC Would I Lie to You: Who is Welsh comedian and panellist Mike Bubbins?". Wales Online. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Mike Bubbins". British Comedy Guide.
- ^ "Nothing Beats the 70s with Mike Bubbins". BBC Radio Wales.
- ^ Owens, David (21 February 2015). "Welsh comedy star Mike Bubbins has built his own pub inside his garage". WalesOnline.
- ^ "Demon Seed podcast".