Despite being one of Britain's top comedians, The 1% Club presenter Lee Mack rarely opens up about his life away from the screen.
Fans of the Lancashire comedian have taken a deeper interest in his home life over the past few months.
Lee is often seen making telly appearances and often stirs up a crowd with his hilarious and often controversial quips as he hosts the popular ITV gameshow.
It should be said, that Lee has come a long way from his humble Southport beginnings.
His fame and fortune is clear to see through his ongoing shows but much of his private life is kept firmly under warps. Here, we take a look at The 1% Club host's life away from the screen...
Childhood and real name
Born above a pub in Southport, Lancashire, in 1968, Lee Mack's real name is Lee Gordon McKillop.
The 54-year-old spent his childhood being raised by his parents who were pub landlords, which later saw the star moving to neighbouring towns.
During his childhood, he spent some of his years in Blackburn.
It was there where Lee grew up living in the former pub The Centurion on Higher Croft Road.
Jobs before fame
The Not Going Out star, who is known best for his writing and role on the show, started out working life as a stable boy.
After working at the stables of racehorse trainer Ginger McCain in Southport for three days, he asked if he could ride one of the horses, to which the trainer agreed.
Without realising, the comedian then chose Red Rum as the first horse he would ride.
Lee then became a Blue Coat entertainer at the Pontins holiday resort at Hemsby in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk which was, according to Lee, considered to be the top venue amongst Blue Coats.
The job marked Lee's first forays into stand up, but the job wasn't to last.
"I got very drunk, I had a go at doing it as Blue Coat. My mate said to me to just copy all the other comedians at Pontins and steal their jokes and basically talk to the front row," said the comedian on The Graham Norton Show.
Lee's drunken antics managed to get him "sacked" from the resort and he was sent to work at Morecambe Pontins "as a sort of punishment".
But, it all worked out for Lee in the end, as he performed his first open mic slot while studying at Brunel University in 1994 and within 18 months he was a full-time comedian
Lee's wife
It was during his university days when Lee set his first sights on his wife Tara.
The 8 Out Of 10 Cats regular met his wife in 1996, during his time studying there.
Nearly a decade on, the couple tied the knot in 2005 and now live in East Molesey in Surrey with their three children.
Lee previously mentioned how he has to put up with people assuming that she was attracted by his high profile and fortune, rather than his charm and humour.
Lee said on a podcast: "We talked the other day with Roisin Conaty.
"Her sister met Tara and said 'I assume you two have been together after you became a comedian and got a bit of money.'
"And I said 'no, no, we met before I ever was a comedian when we were at university.' And do you know what she said? 'Did you save her life or something?' I thought that's an incredibly bold statement to make after five minutes of meeting someone."
Family life
Millie, Arlo, and Louie are the names of his children, who he frequently jokes about.
Arlo, the couple's first child, was born a year before their wedding in 2005.
Louie, their second son, was born shortly after their marriage.
The comedian previously told Radio Times that his family is the source of many of his creative works and Arlo once appeared in the 2013 Christmas special of Not Going Out.
"They're really not bothered whether it’s on or not," he said of his popular comedy show. "My wife doesn't really watch it and although my eldest has just started to, it's not his favourite show by a long way – and why would it be?"
He continued: "The only feedback I get from him is the occasional slightly arched eyebrow if he likes one of my character's jokes.
"That's high praise in my house. He did actually appear in the 2013 Christmas special."
Fear of flying
There is very little said about Lee's personal life but in 2021, he shared his chronic fear of flying that has him so scared of stepping foot on a plane, he often opts to drive himself abroad instead.
He previously said he hadn’t flown since he had to go on a special British Airways course to calm him down enough to get back from a Children in Need trip to Turkey with Frank Skinner over ten years ago.
He previously told Mirror: "If we go on holiday - and we have done for the last couple of years – Tara has flown with the kids and I’ve met them there.
"And I’m including Barcelona, I’m including Switzerland.
"You know why – they won’t let me sit up front and drive it. I’ve asked. I’ve said 'yeah, of course I’ll fly – can I drive?' and they said 'no, and you don’t drive a plane, you fly it'.
"And I’ve said 'forget it then, I’ll go in the car'.
"I went on tour last year with Rob Brydon and David Mitchell and I did all my own driving."
