Mark Gatiss

Mark Lawson talks to writer, actor and comedian Mark Gatiss about his life, career and fulfilling childhood dreams. In this entertaining interview Gatiss explores formative memories of growing up opposite a psychiatric hospital in County Durham, admits the difficulty of coming out as a gay man, reveals why his role in the British film flop Sex Lives of the Potato Men was the biggest mistake of his career yet also his 'Pistols moment', and talks about how his lifelong passion for horror and science fiction have influenced his success and contributed to his 'long revenge against PE teachers who told me that I would never come to anything'. Gatiss first made a name for himself as one of the comedy quartet The League of Gentlemen, which he formed with university friends Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson. Their first breakthrough was winning the Perrier Award for their stage show in 1997, and BBC radio and television success quickly followed. Gatiss has gone on to form a successful solo career as an actor, with notable roles including Bamber Gascoigne in Starter for Ten and Malcolm McLaren in Worried About the Boy. As a writer Gatiss is living out his childhood obsessions, writing episodes of Dr Who and the BAFTA-Award winning series Sherlock, and presenting a series on horror for the BBC.