Peep Show hit screens 20 years ago, as the lives of the horrifyingly relatable Mark and Jez played out and garnered fans across the globe
The Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain-created show ran from 2003 to 2015 with 54 episodes across nine series, and followed David Mitchell’s character Mark Corrigan and his best friend and flatmate, layabout Jeremy Usborne played by Robert Webb.
Since the show came off air, David and Robert, who met at Cambridge in 1993, have gone on to enjoy life as a double act, while the latter was hit with health woes just before his Strictly Come Dancing stint in 2021 – which ended in an early departure.
Far from being the main attraction of the show – fellow stars have enjoyed equally prosperous fortunes since its conclusion, most notably Olivia Colman, who plays Sophie Chapman, who went on to win an Oscar in 2019.
Another headline hitter comes in Sophie Winkleman, who played Big Suze and is now a member of the Royal family, and the Hollywood successes of others.
So where are the stars of Peep Show now?
Peep Show hit screens 20 years ago, as the lives of the horrifyingly relatable Mark and Jez played out and garnered fans across the globe
Far from being the main attraction of the show – fellow stars have enjoyed equally prosperous fortunes since its conclusion, most notably Olivia Colman, who plays Sophie Chapman, who went on to win an Oscar in 2019
Leading man Robert Webb went on to star on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 after a health scare
Another headline hitter comes in Sophie Winkleman, who played Big Suze and is now a member of the Royal family thanks to marrying Lord Frederick Windsor
ROBERT WEBB – Jeremy Usborne
Robert, 51, played Jeremy – the drug loving, freeloading best friend and housemate of the ever-dismayed Mark – for the entirety of the show.
Following his stint on the show, in 2017 Robert collaborated with David to create Back, a sitcom starring them both as brothers hit by their father’s death.
As they embarked on their sitcom endeavor, a routine medical check on set revealed Robert had a prolapse in his heart, which doctors said ‘would fail’ within two to six months, leading to his emergency open-heart surgery.
He underwent surgery in October 2019, after he was diagnosed with a Mitral valve prolapse (MVP), which occurs when the small flap in the heart that stops blood flowing the wrong way becomes too floppy and does not close properly.
Robert, 51, played Jeremy – the drug loving, freeloading best friend and housemate of the ever-dismayed Mark – for the entirety of the show
He said: ‘Honestly, I’d been dreading the show’s medical, which isn’t the attitude of a healthy person. I’d assumed the pains I’d been experiencing were simply what it is to be 47 – and still caning the fags and booze, not doing any exercise and eating badly.’
Speaking about the surgery later on, the funnyman said: ‘[He said] I’m not saying you’re going to have a heart attack in the next fortnight. But if the problem isn’t addressed, then in the next two or four or six months… this heart will fail.’
On the prospect of losing his friend, David said: ‘It’s always easier to be nice about Rob to other people, so I can say to you that Rob’s heart operation has reminded me how grateful I am to have him in my life.’
Two years after his surgery, in 2021, Robert appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, yet withdrew from the show due to health concerns just three weeks in.
He revealed: ‘I’m extremely sorry to have to announce that I’m withdrawing from Strictly Come Dancing …
‘Two years ago I had open heart surgery and although I believed I was fit enough to take on Strictly and its demanding schedule, it became clear that I had bitten off way more than I could chew for this stage in my recovery.
‘I had begun to feel symptoms that led me to seek an urgent consultation with my heart specialist, and it was her view that it would be better for the sake of my health to step back from the show.’
He later admitted: ‘It is brutal. It is an absolutely weird show. It is not like it is an unpleasant environment, but they are long days and it is a long time to be nice.’
Following his stint on the show, in 2017 Robert collaborated with David to create Back, a sitcom starring them both as brothers hit by their father’s death
He underwent surgery in October 2019, after he was diagnosed with a Mitral valve prolapse (MVP), which occurs when the small flap in the heart that stops blood flowing the wrong way becomes too floppy and does not close properly
Peep Show creator Jesse Armstrong described Robert’s character Jez as a ‘w**ker’
DAVID MITCHELL – Mark Corrigan
David, 49, meanwhile played the awkward, cripplingly anxious Mark, who spent much of the show pursuing Sophie before marrying and abandoning her.
He soon turned his attention to Dobby, however she left for New York leaving him heartbroken and caught in yet more unrequited romances.
Since the show came off screens, David is now a regular on TV quiz shows and a team captain on BBC series Would I Lie to You?
After Peep Show’s success, David and Robert returned to sketch comedy with their BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound, which ran for five series.
The show was adapted for TV and became That Mitchell And Webb Look, which producer Gareth Edwards described it as ‘the shortest pitch [he had] ever written’. The show ran for four series.
In September 2023, Mitchell published Unruly: A History of England’s Kings and Queens, a non-fiction book about the history of the English monarchy up until Queen Elizabeth I.
David, 49, meanwhile played the awkward, cripplingly anxious Mark, who spent much of the show pursuing Sophie before marrying and abandoning her
In January 2024, Mitchell began filming the new BBC comedy detective drama series Ludwig. Mitchell plays the titular character of John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, a man who assumes the identity of his missing identical twin brother to track him down.
He is married to journalist and comedian Victoria Coren, who he met at Jonathan Ross’ Halloween bash in 2007, despite believing he would never marry.
In his autobiography, he penned: ‘I’d never really had a long, meaningful relationship. I’d had the odd one-night stand here and there…
‘I thought maybe it wouldn’t work out for me. I had lots of friends who were serial monogamists and I’d had a few flings, none of which was perfect…
‘I thought, that’s not for me. I don’t want to go out with someone who I’m not head-over-heels in love with. But then I met Victoria. It took us a while to get together… but I was smitten.’
The couple wed in November 2012, with Robert acting as Best Man, while they had their daughter Barbara in May 2015 and stunned fans in November, when they announced the secret arrival of their second child the previous month.
David later said of his wife: ‘She’s clever, funny, beautiful. I think she’s amazing. She’s brilliant at what she does. For three years I thought about her all the time, and I still do but in a much happier way…
‘I didn’t know whether I was built to be in a couple and finding that I am is tremendous. Life is a lot less bewildering and stressful when there’s someone to talk to who you know will back you up whatever happens…
‘I feel self-conscious talking about it, but of course I had to put it in the book because the book’s a memoir and it’s one of the most important things that’s ever happened to me.’
David, 49, meanwhile played the awkward, cripplingly anxious Mark, who spent much of the show pursuing Sophie before marrying and abandoning her
Since the show came off screens, David is now a regular on TV quiz shows and a team captain on BBC series Would I Lie to You? (pictured with co-stars Rob Brydon and Lee Mack)
He is married to journalist and comedian Victoria Coren, who he met at Jonathan Ross’ Halloween bash in 2007, despite believing he would never marry
OLIVIA COLMAN – Sophie Chapman
Olivia, who is undoubtedly the show’s biggest success story, first met Robert and David at Cambridge’s famed drama society Footlights, as she trained to be a teacher – yet David insisted he saw huge potential in the star.
David wrote in his autobiography Backstory: ‘Suddenly she was shining with talent – working the audience, timing her lines, drawing out new laughs without ever seeming hammy.
Sophie was the object of Mark’s affections
‘There were many talented actors at Cambridge while I was there, very few were as good as Collie – certainly no one better.’
Since starring on Peep Show, she enjoyed stints in Broadchurch, The Night Manager, The Crown and an Oscar-winning turn as Queen Anne in The Favourite.
She walked away victorious in 2019, at the 91st Academy Awards, where she was overjoyed as she accepted the gong, during which she reached out to little girls everywhere in an inspiring and sweet speech.
She said: ‘Any little girl who’s practicing your speech on the telly, you never know! I used to work as a cleaner and I spent quite a lot of my time imagining this.’
In the heartwarming speech, she graciously gave a nod to her colleagues: ‘I have to thank lots of people. Yorgos [Lanthimos], my best director and the best film with Emma [Stone] and Rachel [Weisz], the two loveliest women to fall in love with and go to work with every day. You can imagine it wasn’t a hardship.’
Olivia, who is undoubtedly the show’s biggest success story, first met Robert and David at Cambridge’s famed drama society Footlights, as she trained to be a teacher – yet David insisted he saw huge potential in the star
She walked away victorious in 2019, at the 91st Academy Awards, where she was overjoyed as she accepted the gong, during which she reached out to little girls everywhere in an inspiring and sweet speech
Other early details revealed that Olivia Colman’s character Sophie (pictured), who goes on to marry Mark, was initially only written into the pilot
SOPHIE WINKLEMAN – Big Suze
Big Suze is Jeremy’s former girlfriend, known for being ‘posh’ and the long-time object of his affections, before she moves on to Mark’s boss Johnson.
While Suze’s posh status is a joke throughout the series, it is a case of life imitating art as the sister of Claudia Winkleman has married into the Royal family.
Sophie married King Charles’ second cousin Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009 and the couple have two children – Maud, ten, and Isabella, seven.
Big Suze is Jeremy’s former girlfriend, known for being ‘posh’ and the long-time object of his affections, before she moves on to Mark’s boss Johnson
Speaking about the close relationships she has with the royals since marrying into the Windsor family, she said: ‘[I’m] really good friends with all of them – that’s a really daft thing to say, but behind the camera they’re really fun, clever, kind people.
‘I love Sophie Edinburgh, Sarah Chatto, Zara, the York girls, Tim and Princess Anne, Fergie, all the Kents and Gloucesters.
‘I love Kate and William, but they’re so busy and don’t live in London, so I don’t see them much.’
Giving special credit to King Charles, the daughter-in-law to Prince Michael of Kent said: ‘I spend a bit of time with him. You see how he works all day long, has a quick supper and then disappears until about 4am to write letters.
‘He cares about so many things and he comes up with brilliant solutions.’
But in 2017, Sophie’s new life turned upside down after she was involved in a car crash which left her fearing she was in her final moments.
She was a back-seat passenger in a chauffeur-driven car when another vehicle struck it after swerving to avoid a deer. The car she was riding in was thrown up into the air before crashing down and causing life-threatening injuries.
While Suze’s posh status is a joke throughout the series, it is a case of life imitating art as the sister of Claudia Winkleman has married into the Royal family
She said: ‘I was completely lucid throughout. I assumed I was a goner and you just go into a strangely un-romantic mode of thinking, ‘Right, this is my last few minutes. I’ve got to do something practical.’
‘So I was thinking things like, ‘Hope my parents stay well to help Freddie take care of the children, hope he meets someone nice.”
Paramedics managed to rescue her from the vehicle and rush her to hospital, where they discovered she had sustained a broken foot and two broken bones in her back.
It was three days before it was confirmed that she wouldn’t be left paralysed.
Sophie said the rehabilitation period, which lasted over a year, was ‘miserable’ and left her unable to pick up her daughters.
While Suze’s posh status is a joke throughout the series, it is a case of life imitating art as the sister of Claudia Winkleman has married into the Royal family
But in 2017, Sophie’s new life turned upside down after she was involved in a car crash which left her fearing she was in her final moments
Worlds away from Mark and Jez, Sophie is good friends with King Charles in real life