Sam Nixon Samuel Nixon (born 21 March 1986) is an English singer and television presenter. He came third on the '' Pop Idol'' television series in 2003 and is now one half of the duo Sam & Mark, with the other being fellow ''Pop Idol'' contestant Mar ...

and

Mark Rhodes Mark Thomas Rhodes (born 11 September 1981) is an English singer and television presenter, best known as one half of Sam & Mark, the other being Sam Nixon. Career Born in Wolverhampton, England, Rhodes finished in second place in the second ...

, known collectively as Sam & Mark, are an English popular music and television presenting duo. They previously competed on the second series of ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'' in 2003, in which they finished third and second, respectively, behind winner

Michelle McManus Michelle McManus (born 8 May 1980) is a Scottish singer, columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter who won the second and final series of the UK talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2003. She currently presents the ''Afternoon'' radio show ...

. Since then, Sam & Mark have had a successful career in radio and television in the UK.

Music career

and

competed on the second series of ''

'' in 2003. Nixon finished third, while Rhodes came second behind winner

. After ''Pop Idol'', they decided to form a duo, and signed with manager

Simon Fuller Simon Robert Fuller (born 17 May 1960) is a British entrepreneur, artist manager, and film and television producer. He is the creator of the Idols (franchise), ''Idols'' TV format, including the British series ''Pop Idol'' and the American ser ...

. Sam & Mark released a cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

With a Little Help from My Friends "With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song recorded by English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and is sung by drummer Ringo Starr (a ...

" as a single on Fuller's label S. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 1. However, the follow-up single " The Sun Has Come Your Way", released by

UMTV Universal Music On Demand (UMOD) is a London-based record label owned by Universal Music Group, formed in 1998 as Universal Music TV (UMTV). UMOD specialises in producing compilation albums and occasional single releases. It was founded whe ...

, only reached Number 19. Consequently, the pair, while working for

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

, were informed that they were no longer allowed to release music, as Sam and Mark had signed a deal with

Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...

for a period of two years to perform both live and pre-recorded shows. This resulted in Fuller signing the duo out of their label and contracts, as they were concentrating on children's shows on CBBC.

Broadcasting career

Radio hosts

In January 2003 Sam and Mark started a career in radio presenting. First, they hosted Saturdays 10am-1pm, and Sundays 11am-3pm on Gem, before moving to weekdays 9am-1pm on 6 June 2005, with the chance to interview the biggest stars on their show. They left Gem on 2 June 2006. On 11 March 2007, they began hosting

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

on Sunday at breakfast, from 7-11am. On 31 December 2007, they hosted a whole night of DJ sets on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

to see in the new year from 6pm-5am. Their last Sunday Smash Hits Breakfast show was on 26 December 2010. Sam And Mark were due to return to Gem on 1 January 2011 to host ''Saturday Night Gem Anthems''; however, three hours before they were due on air, they could not host it. On 5 August 2011, Sam and Mark were told that they could not host any more radio shows. The duo presented a radio show which can be heard on Free Radio across

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

on Sunday mornings, from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm. Nixon also did cover work for

BBC Radio Leeds BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of West Yorkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at St Peter's Square in Leeds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audienc ...

Television hosts

Sam & Mark have had subsequently had a successful career as children's TV presenters, hosting various

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

programmes, such as '' TMi'', ''

Top of the Pops Reloaded ''Top of the Pops Reloaded'' (''TOTP Reloaded''), originally known as ''Top of the Pops Saturday'' (2002–2005), is a weekly children's music show that was broadcast as part of the Saturday morning CBBC schedule on BBC One and later BBC Two. It ...

'', '' Copycats'', '' Sam and Mark's Guide to Dodging Disaster'', ''

Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up ''Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up'' (also called ''Sam & Mark's Big Wind-Up'' for repeat compilations featuring just the pranks and ''Sam & Mark's Big Christmas Wind-Up'' for Christmas specials) is a British children's entertainment series aire ...

'', ''

Junior Bake Off ''Junior Bake Off'' is a British television baking competition in which young bakers aged 9 to 12 tackle a series of challenges involving baking cakes, biscuits, bread, and pastries, competing to be crowned ''Junior Bake Off'' Champion. The se ...

'', and '' Crackerjack!'' on CBBC. Sam & Mark hosted CBBC's weekday morning breakfast show, '' Level Up'' for four months, from 3 April 2006 to 1 September 2006. On 16 September 2006, they hosted the first episode of ''TMi'', a new Saturday morning TV show for the BBC on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

and the

CBBC Channel CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

, alongside presenter

Caroline Flack Caroline Louise Flack (9 November 1979 – 15 February 2020) was an English television presenter and actress. Flack grew up in Norfolk and took an interest in dancing and theatre while at school. She began her professional career as an actress, ...

. The third series of the show ended in December 2008, and the

confirmed a fourth series of the Saturday morning series for CBBC. In 2007, Sam & Mark presented a show for CBBC, '' Do Something Different''. Beginning on 3 January 2009, Sam and Mark's ''Who Wants to be a Superhero?'' began to air, in which children competed to be a new superhero for

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

. They were also asked to perform on

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

in 2007. In January 2010, they began a new show, ''Jump Nation'', which is similar to '' Skate Nation'', another programme they presented. They were also on a celebrity special of ''

Total Wipeout ''Total Wipeout'' is a British game show hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram which first aired on the BBC on 3 January 2009. In each episode, contestants competed in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges ...

''. Neither won, losing out to glamour model

Danielle Lloyd Danielle Lloyd (formerly O'Hara; born 16 December 1983) is an English TV host, model, businesswoman and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss England 2004 and Miss Great Britain 2006. Lloyd first rose to prominence when she was strippe ...

. In '' Sam and Mark's Guide to Dodging Disaster'' for CBBC, they were in non-speaking roles, with a voice over by

Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show ''Mock the Week'' (2005–2022) and is one half ...

. They have also presented the competition segment of '' This Morning'' on ITV1. On Wednesday 28 April 2010, Sam and Mark presented an On The Box segment for ''This Morning'', in which they reviewed the latest TV shows, DVDs and movies. They then appeared on a CBBC series, '' Copycats''. A show similar to the ''TMi'' series, but called ''Sam and Mark's TMi Friday'', began in September 2010, and finished in December; it was then cancelled. For

Red Nose Day 2011 ''Red Nose Day 2011'' was a fundraising event organised by Comic Relief. There was a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 18 March 2011 to early the following morning as well as a number of run-up events. The theme ...

, the two presented a series called ''

Comic Relief does Glee Club ''Sport/Comic Relief Does Glee Club'' is a British television programme aired on BBC One and CBBC. Presented by Sam & Mark and Naomi Wilkinson, the first contest aired between 14 and 18 March 2011, and was won by Soulmates. The second series wa ...

'', which had five 45-minute episodes, four of which were live, on BBC One. In 2012, this continued with '' Sport Relief does Glee Club'', which had eight 30-minute episodes on CBBC and two live episodes on BBC One and CBBC. In 2013, a new series of ''Comic Relief does Glee Club'', hosted by Naomi Wilkinson, aired. Sam and Mark joined Naomi for the last five of the 45-minute heats. From 2011, the duo had their own series called ''

''. Similar to a prank show, the programme featured celebrity guests each week. In 2012, Sam and Mark competed against each other in ITV's ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'', which also included

Rosemary Conley Rosemary Jean Neil Conley CBE, DL (''née'' Weston, 19 December 1946)''The International Who's Who of Women 2002'', Europa, , p. 113 is an English businesswoman, author and broadcaster on exercise and health. Conley authored a low-fat diet and e ...

Charlene Tilton Charlene L. Tilton (born December 1, 1958) is an American actress and singer. She is widely known for playing Lucy Ewing on the CBS prime time soap opera ''Dallas''. Career Tilton had early roles on television series such as ''Happy Days'' ...

Jennifer Ellison Jennifer Lesley Ellison is an English actress, former glamour model, television personality, dancer and singer. Ellison is perhaps best known for playing Emily Shadwick in the television soap opera '' Brookside'' until 2003, and as Meg Giry in ...

and Chico; Mark was third to leave, while Sam left in week 9. In 2013, Sam and Mark co-hosted a Channel 5 special, ''The Great Christmas Toy Giveaway'', alongside

Myleene Klass Myleene Angela Klass (born 6 April 1978) is an English musician, singer, television presenter and model. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass ...

. The two-hour show featured guests, toy reviews, music and videos previewing the toys and games available for Christmas; it also included a competition to win over £10,000 worth of toys. In 2020, the BBC's revival of '' Crackerjack!'' was presented by the duo. They presented series 3 and 4 of

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

's ''

'' in 2015 and 2016.

''Sam and Mark: On the Road Show (2017)''

Sam and Mark began a tour of

Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...

holiday camps from February 2017, performing a new game show similar to their TV shows, such as ''Sam and Mark's Big Friday Wind Up'', ''TMi'' and ''Copycats''. The tour ended on 3 September the same year.

Discography

Singles

Books

* ''The Adventures of Long Arm'' (2 August 2015) * ''The Adventures of Long Arm 2: Long Arm vs The Evil Supply Teacher'' (3 March 2016)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sam and Mark English pop music duos 19 Recordings artists Entertainer duos