Lee Mack is best known for hosting ITV’s The 1% Club and appearing on panel shows like Would I Lie To You?, but did you know the comedian’s name isn’t quite as it seems?
Lee Mack, renowned for his sharp humour on panel shows like Would I Lie To You? and his sitcom Not Going Out, is currently reigning over Saturday night telly with his captivating ITV gameshow. The 1% Club sees 100 contestants attempt to bag up to £100,000 by answering IQ test-style questions, with participants being knocked out as the game advances.
The quiz frequently leaves viewers at home fuming – either because the questions are too easy or, alternatively, seemingly-impossible to answer. One question involving a missing word in some sentences left fans baffled and the contestant walking away with nothing. Meanwhile, another question to scoop the final £96,000 prize had people annoyed as they branded it a simple ‘wordsearch’, while another involving a sequence of letters was called the ‘easiest ever’.
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Lee is quick to talk about the player’s jobs and sometimes even jokes about their names, but were you aware that Lee Mack isn’t even the star’s actual name?
If your answer was ‘ no’, then you’re not alone, as even The 1% Club’s contestants appeared taken aback when Lee admitted it on the programme.
In a recent episode, a contestant disclosed that their surname was McKillop. The audience was left stunned when Lee revealed that it’s his real surname as well.
It appears that the Southport-born comedian, who first gained recognition at the 1995 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, was indeed born Lee McKillop.
Before he became a familiar face on primetime television, Lee had an intriguing first job – cleaning stables for the legendary racehorse Red Rum, the three-time Grand National champion.
After failing his O-Levels and leaving college, Lee found himself in a difficult situation but managed to secure the role, despite never having ridden a horse before, according to Wales Online.
Incredibly, the first horse Lee ever mounted was the legendary Red Rum. This early exposure to the racing world may have sparked the inspiration for one of his initial TV sketches about a quick-witted jockey on The Sketch Show.
Beyond his equine escapades, 56 year old Lee is a huge darts fan and often enjoys a game with former Not Going Out co-star Tim Vine. He even held two world records in darts, both achieved on the same day whilst filming TV show Let’s Play Darts back in 2015.
The first record was for the most darts hitting the number two section in one minute, and the second for the most inner and outer bullseyes in a minute. Unfortunately, his two world records were surpassed by Ricky Evans and James Wade in 2020 and 2016, respectively.
Lee married his university sweetheart, Tara Mckillop, in a private ceremony back in 2005. The couple welcomed their first child, Arlo, in 2004 and have since expanded their family with two more children – Louie and Millie. The family of five now lives in Surrey.
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