It didn't take me long to decide who my Comedian of the Year 2023 was. I just had to think about the last few day's viewing. Southport-born Lee Mack has starred in programmes I've watched on three consecutive nights. Not Going Out's 100th episode and two episodes of his quiz The 1% Club. 

These high profile achievements would already single out the 55-year-old comedian, but in 2023 he has shown that he has other strings to his bow too. There's a lot more to Mack than his cheeky chappy persona. When Bob Mortimer was indisposed and could not appear on Gone Fishing with Paul Whitehouse there were all sorts of people the show could've called upon as a super sub. Bob's chum Vic Reeves? One of Paul's Fast Show mates? 

But instead they opted for Mack. Which was an interesting choice because it transpired that Mack is a vegan and would not catch fish. Instead he used a magnet to fish with something that it would not cause any harm. Not that you can catch many fish with a magnet.

This appearance revealed hidden depths to Mack that passing fans might not be aware of. When I first came across him in the latet 1990s I always thought of him as a fairly standard stand-up, very funny but more mainstream than the post-alternative usual Edinburgh Fringe suspects. Even though he has done Edinburgh and picked up acclaim there there was more than a hint of an end of the pier Eric Morecambe about him.

But – and it's an important point – there is nothing fundamentally wrong with mainstream comedy. And Mack's quickfire wit always brought a freshness to his performamces and appearances on shows such as Would I Lie To You? and, more recently, The 1% Club, where his irreverent banter with the contestants is, for me, the highlight of the latter show. The other night, as it kicked off, he suggested: "Why don't you all agree to share the prize money and we can be in Nando's by 10pm."

Another factor that makes this such a special year for Mack is that he brought the same wit to a brand new BBC quiz show, 3x3. Which actually turned out to be not a conventional quiz but a previously unscheduled episode of Inside No 9, which – spoiler alert – ended with a contestant's head exploding. Not something we've seen on the 1% Club yet.

As I said, there is more to Mack than meets the eye. While as far as I know he is not a buddhist, he is very inrerested in buddhism and regularly meditates. Not that this seems to have calmed him down – but then who knows what he would be like without the meditation? He even has a podcast about the subject. I Can't Believe It's Not Buddha. Yes. Seriously

And then there's also an acting side hustle showing that he is happy to stretch himself onstage. Mack can currently be seen in a new version of The Unfriend, a dark comedy about suburbia which previously starred his Inside No 9 chum Reece Shearsmith.

As I said, there's much more to Mack than his cheeky chappy persona. 

Watch the 1% Club here.

Picture: ITV