Mark Rhodes Explained

Birth Name:Mark Thomas Rhodes
Mark Rhodes
Birth Date:1981 9, df=y
Birth Place:Darlaston, Walsall, England
Years Active:2003–present
Known For:Pop Idol
Top of the Pops Reloaded
TMi
Copycats
Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up
Children:2

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 series of Pop Idol in the United Kingdom, as runner-up to Michelle McManus. After Pop Idol, he teamed up with third-place Sam Nixon, releasing two singles under the name Sam & Mark. In February 2004, their cover of the song "With a Little Help from My Friends" reached number 1 in the UK singles chart, remaining there for one week. Their second single 'The Sun Has Come Your Way" reached 19 in the singles chart. The pair were subsequently encouraged by manager Simon Fuller to pursue a career in TV.

Rhodes went on to co-present Top of the Pops Reloaded with Nixon and Fearne Cotton in 2004. From April 2006, Rhodes co-hosted the weekday children's breakfast show Level Up on BBC Two alongside Nixon and Ayesha Asantewaa. Level Up finished its first series in September 2006.

In September 2006, Rhodes began presenting BBC Two's Saturday morning show TMi alongside Nixon and Caroline Flack. He had his own short segment on the show called "Question Mark", a feature where he tried to answer viewers' questions, but Flack and Nixon talked through it. In later series, Flack left and the show moved to Fridays. The show's final episode aired on 17 December 2010. He also co-presented Do Something Different with Nixon and Ayesha Asantewaa. Nixon and Rhodes produced a children's reality series, Who Wants to Be a Superhero? and Sam and Mark's Guide to Dodging Disaster.

In 2009, Rhodes co-presented the show Skate Nation on BBC Two. He presented a Total Wipeout Celebrity Special, which aired on 2 January 2010. Rhodes fell at the quarter-final stage, losing out to eventual winner Danielle Lloyd. They subsequently took part in two episodes of Hole in the Wall, airing on 11 October 2008 and 14 November 2009.

Rhodes competed in the 2012 series of Dancing on Ice. He was eliminated by the judges on 22 January after a skate-off with Dallas actress Charlene Tilton.

Sam & Mark were the hosts of family CBBC family game show Copycats.

In 2024 Rhodes began presenting a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio WM.[1]

Awards and nominations

BAFTA Best Children’s Presenter

Winner:

2013 (Sam and Mark's Big Friday Wind Up)

2015 (Sam and Mark's Big Friday Wind Up)

Nominations:

2007, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019

BAFTA Best Children's Entertainment Show

Winner:

2016 (Sam and Mark's Big Friday Wind Up)

Nominations:

2014, 2015 and 2016

RTS North West Awards Best Entertainment Show

Winner:

2015 (Sam and Mark’s Big Friday Wind Up)

2021 (Crackerjack)

Nominations:

2013, 2015 and 2021

Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards Best Newcomer:

Nomination:

2011

Personal life

Rhodes attended Darlaston Comprehensive High School in Darlaston in the West Midlands. Rhodes splits his time between his house in St Margarets, London, and his family house in Wolverhampton, where he is regularly seen scrumping apples in the village of Wombourne.

He got engaged in March 2011 and married his girlfriend Harriet Wilson on 2 June 2012. They now have a daughter, Scarlett and a son, Teddy, born at the end of April 2016.

Rhodes is a Wolverhampton Wanderers fan and played on the All Stars side at Matt Murray's testimonial match in 2011. He also played in Jody Craddock's testimonial match as part of a Wolves XI at Molineux in 2014.

Pop Idol 2 performances

WeekThemeSong ChoiceOriginal ArtistResult
Top 50"She's Like The Wind"Patrick Swayze20.3% (2/10)
Top 12Your Pop Idol"With Or Without You"U2Bottom 3
Top 10Birthyear Songs"Imagine"John LennonSafe
Top 8Elton John Songs"Something About The Way You Look Tonight"Elton JohnSafe
Top 7Disco"More Than A Woman"Bee GeesBottom 3
Top 6The Beatles"Help!"The BeatlesBottom 3
Top 5Big Band"Have You Met Miss Jones?"Frank SinatraSafe
Top 4Christmas Songs"Merry Christmas Everybody"SladeBottom 2
"Blue Christmas"Elvis Presley
Top 3Judges' Choice"Back For Good"Take ThatSafe
"If You Don't Know Me By Now"Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
FinalContestant's Choice"She's Like The Wind"Patrick SwayzeRunner-up
B Side"Measure of a Man"Clay Aiken
Winner's Single"All This Time"To be released by the winner. The eventual winner was Michelle McManus

Filmography

YearTitleNotes
2003Pop IdolContestant
2004–2006Top of the Pops ReloadedCo-presenter
2006Level UpMain presenter with Sam Nixon
2006–2010TMiMain presenter with Sam Nixon and Caroline Flack
2007Do Something DifferentMain presenter
2008SMartGuest presenter
2008Sam and Mark's Guide to Dodging DisasterMain presenter with Sam Nixon
2009Who Wants to Be a Superhero?Main presenter
2009Skate NationMain presenter with Sam Nixon
2010Jump NationMain presenter with Sam Nixon
2010–2016CopycatsMain presenter with Sam Nixon
2011–2014Comic Relief Does Glee ClubMain presenter with Sam Nixon
2011–2019Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-UpMain presenter with Sam Nixon
2012Dancing on IceContestant
2014–2015,2018The Dog Ate My HomeworkContestant; 3 episodes
2015–2016Junior Bake OffMain presenter with Sam Nixon
2016-2017Match of the Day: Can You Kick It Main presenter with Sam Nixon
2017Ready or NotMain presenter with Sam Nixon
2020-2021Crackerjack Main presenter with Sam Nixon
2022The One ShowVT Presenter
2022The All Star Games for Sport ReliefContestant

Discography

Singles

as Sam & Mark

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mark Rhodes and Darren Harriott to present on BBC Radio WM . 2024-10-18 . www.bbc.com . en-GB.