| Mike Bubbins | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 April 1972 Barry, Wales |
| Medium |
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| Education | Barry Boys' Comprehensive, University of Wales Institute |
| Genres | |
| Spouse | Kelly Bubbins (m. 2007) |
| Children | 2 |
| Notable works and roles |
|
| Website | mikebubbins |
Mike Bubbins (born 18 April 1972) [1] is a Welsh stand-up comedian, writer, actor, presenter, and podcaster.
Originally a P.E. teacher and part-time Elvis impersonator, Bubbins co-writes and stars in his own BBC sitcom, Mammoth . He also co-hosts podcast The Socially Distant Sports Bar ; hosts Scrum V Top 5 for BBC Wales; and continues to work as a stand-up. [2] [3]
Bubbins was born in Barry, South Wales, and attended Barry Boys' Comprehensive. [4] As a schoolboy, Bubbins played rugby union as a flanker. In an interview with The Rugby Journal, Bubbins spoke about missing out on selection for Wales Rugby Union Schoolboys. [5]
I think professionalism happened five years too late for me. Some of the players I played with and against – Scott Quinnell, Wayne Proctor, Neil Boobyer, Nathan Budgett, Geraint Lewis, Ben Evans – went on to play for Wales. I was a real idiot. I had a short fuse and would say the wrong things to the wrong people.
He lived in Canada for three years, where he played and coached rugby, before returning to Wales to attend the University of Wales Institute as a mature student. [5] Bubbins spent a decade as a P.E. teacher, before working the UK stand-up circuit. He credits British sitcom, The Office as inspiring him into the profession. [6]
In 2021, Bubbins wrote and starred in a sitcom pilot for BBC Wales, Mammoth , combining his experiences as a P.E. teacher with his love of the 1970s. [7] Three episodes aired on BBC Two in 2024, and the show was commissioned for a second series of eight episodes, plus a Christmas special. [8]
In November 2024, Bubbins' Scrum V Top 5 debuted on BBC Wales. Hosted from the bar in his garden, the show sees former rugby players and sportspeople creating a top-five list. An extended version of each episode is also available as a podcast. [9]
| # | Date | Guest | Subject | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Nov 2024 | Sam Warburton | Favourite team-mates | [10] |
| 2 | 11 Nov 2024 | Dan Biggar | Favourite opponents | [11] |
| 3 | 18 Nov 2024 | Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson | Favourite rugby moments | [12] |
| 4 | 25 Nov 2024 | Gareth Edwards | Players with whom he wished he'd played | [13] |
| 5 | 29 Jan 2025 | Alun Wyn Jones | Favourite Six Nations matches | [14] |
| 6 | 5 Feb 2025 | Jonathan Davies | Favourite individual tries | [15] |
| 7 | 12 Feb 2025 | Steve Speirs | Rugby heroes | [16] |
| 8 | 19 Feb 2025 | Adam Jones | Top-five forwards | [17] |
| 9 | 25 Feb 2025 | Sarra Elgan | Favourite rugby characters | [18] |
Bubbins has acted in BBC sitcoms, including Warren, where he played Bob; and Josh , in which he made a cult appearance as driving instructor, Huw. In the BBC Wales sitcom, Tourist Trap , Bubbins played Wyn - with Mari Beard as long-suffering wife Charlotte.
He portrayed an exaggerated version of himself in spoof paranormal investigation show, The Unexplainers - based on the radio show of the same name - and Pastor John in the second series of Soft Border Patrol .
Bubbins is due to guest in BBC crime mystery series, Death Valley , which stars Timothy Spall in the lead role as John Chapel. [19]
Bubbins appeared in episode 12 of Eat Your Heart Out With Nick Helm (2017); series one, episode seven of Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier (2018); and in the documentary Rhod Gilbert: Stand Up To Shyness (2019).
In April 2022, Bubbins starred in an episode of Iaith Ar Daith for S4C, in which he learned Welsh, alongside friend and colleague, Elis James. [20] This led to a viral clip of Bubbins singing Yma o Hyd alongside Dafydd Iwan. [21]
Later the same year, Bubbins co-presented eight episodes of BT Sports' clip-show, Down The Clubhouse, a spin-off from the Socially Distant Sports Bar podcast. [22] [23]
In 2024, he was a guest on Channel 4's long-running cookery show, Sunday Brunch . He was also a panellist for series 17, episode eight of Would I Lie to You?, alongside Babatunde Aléshé, Jessica Knappett, and Claudia Winkleman. Bubbins told a story about a schoolboy trip to the Wimbledon Championships, and performed the Ski Sunday theme in the style of Elvis Presley. [24] The appearance came via a recommendation from presenter and author Richard Osman, after the pair worked together on Richard Osman's House Of Games. [25]
Bubbins has also been a contestant on various quiz shows.
| Date | Show | Note | Opponents | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Jan to 3 Feb 2023 | Richard Osman's House Of Games | Series 6, week 14 |
| Won | [26] [27] |
| 26 Dec 2024 | Celebrity Mastermind | Series 23, episode 3 Subject: James Garner. 20pts |
| Won | [28] |
Bubbins' introduction to stand-up in the mid-2000s came by accident. He told Rob Brydon: [29]
I lucked out. I was mid-thirties before I started comedy and I came to it completely by accident. I was writing a script about an Elvis tribute act - and there was a free scriptwriting course in Cardiff. I turned up on the wrong day. I'm not very organised. It was a stand-up comedy course. He said, "You might as well do the course while you're here". But the teacher, thankfully, was rubbish - because, otherwise, I'd have been put off. They were making a living doing stand-up, and I thought, 'If that’s paying your bills, I can do that'.
Part of his early act came from Bubbins' own love of the 1970s, and his accompanying wardrobe. [30]
My opening gambit would've been something like, "I’m not a character act. This is the way I always dress. It's not 1975. I do that disclaimer at the start of gigs because I did a gig in Merthyr about six months ago, came out dressed like this, freaked the audience out because they thought I was here from the future".
Bubbins' stand-up special, Retrosexual, was broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in May 2022. It has since been rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra. [31] Later the same year, Bubbins was a featured stand-up on the third episode of Kiri Pritchard-McLean's BBC show, Live From Barry Island. [32]
A full-length stand-up TV special, Throwback, was broadcast on BBC One Wales in December 2024, following a UK tour of the same show in 2023. [33] [34]
Since March 2020, Bubbins has co-hosted The Socially Distant Sports Bar with sports journalist, Garrero; and fellow Welsh comedian James. Garrero described the inspiration for the podcast. [35]
I've always wanted to be involved in a project which really gets across what it's like to talk about sport as a real fan. [This is] three friends sitting in a 'pub' telling each other about YouTube clips of sport they've watched, but who frequently get sidetracked by laughing.
The podcast toured theatres with a 12-date tour in 2021, culminating in a homecoming gig at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, in February 2023. [36] The first time all three of them had met up in person together was on stage at the first gig of the tour. [37]
Bubbins and John Rutledge - Eggsy from Welsh rap band Goldie Lookin' Chain - also hosts the Demon Seed podcast, which is described as "a 21st century, supernatural investigative comedy like no other." [38]
Beginning in 2015, Bubbins has played recurring character, Eli Roberts, on The Beef And Dairy Network . He also guested on episode 35 of The Moon Under Water podcast, with then-host, John Robins.
Bubbins is a two-time guest on long-running show, Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast . In October 2022, he featured alongside James and Garrero; then, in July 2023, Bubbins was the main guest on episode 449. [39]
In May 2023, Bubbins made national news after an appearance on Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe , in which he spoke about the abuse he'd received while refereeing children's rugby. [40]
Bubbins has also been on multiple episodes of improvisational comedy podcast, Pappy's , including Pay The Hotel Bill with Joe Lycett in 2016, and Inflate The Airbed, alongside Rosie Jones in 2022.
In 2013, Bubbins presented and starred in his own BBC Radio Wales show, Mike Bubbins: Day Tripper. [41] Between 2015 and 2018, he co-starred in four series of The Unexplainers with Rutledge. The show subsequently moved to television for a 2019 run, before launching as the Demon Seed podcast spin-off.
He made several appearances as a guest on BBC 5 Live's Fighting Talk and Blood On The Tracks. He has played various characters on Lucy Beaumont's BBC Radio sitcom To Hull And Back; and portrayed Mr. Lazarus in BBC Radio 4 comedy drama Dangerous Visions: Kafka's Metamorphosis. [42]
In the summer of 2021 Bubbins hosted Nothing Beats The 70s on BBC Radio Wales, drawing on his love of the 1970s and asking guests to try to disprove his theory that its music and fashion made it the best decade. [43] As part of the show, Bubbins interviewed American composer Mike Post - who went onto create the theme music for Mammoth. [44]
In October 2024, Bubbins spent a week covering for Eleri Siôn in the 10p.m. to midnight slot on BBC Radio Wales. [45] Shortly after, Bubbins and Sian Lloyd were guests on Ivo Graham's Radio 4 show, Obsessions. [46]
Bubbins was nominated as Favourite Actor (Comedy) at the 2024 TV Times Awards for his role as Tony Mammoth in Mammoth. The show was also nominated for Best Comedy at the same awards, plus shortlisted for 2024's best new TV sitcom by Comedy.co.uk. [47] [48]
Alongside James and Steffan Garrero, Bubbins won Best Sport And Leisure Podcast for The Socially Distant Sports Bar at the 2020 Pod Bible Awards. [49] The trio also won Best Sports Comedy Podcast at the inaugural Sports Podcast Awards in 2022. [50]
In 2023, Bubbins plus podcasting colleagues Garrero and James, teamed with Save A Life Cymru to fund cabinets used to house defibrillators. [51]
The podcast has also sponsored multiple sporting clubs across Wales, including Cardiff Metropolitan University's women's football team, Cardiff Schools U16s rugby team, Carmarthen Town FC's Academy teams, Haverfordwest County AFC, and British Olympic bobsleigh athlete, Mica Moore. [52] [53] [54]
Bubbins has been a patron of Tenovus Cancer Care since 2022. [55]
[The three of us] had never been in a room together. Elis and I had; Elis and Steff had; me and Steff had. But the three of us had never. Our first gig was on the live tour in London and the first time we ever met was on stage.