Vic Reeves reveals he's quit TV for good as he shares major career change
Vic Reeves was a comedy sensation when he burst on to our TV screens in the 1990s. Alongside his equally funny sidekick, Bob Mortimer, his surrealist humour had the nation howling. But after a career spanning nearly 30 years, he has quit showbiz to devote his life to countryside walks and painting.
It may seem like a dramatic career move, but Vic, 66 – who now uses his real name, Jim Moir – says stage show Vic Reeves Big Night Out was intended to be a work of art. He says: 'I stopped doing comedy years ago now. Me and Bob don't have to go on TV to enjoy that chemistry together. When I started doing Big Night Out, I considered it an art project really, not a comedy. It ended up being that.
'All the work that goes around the production, being famous. I just never really liked being on TV that much.
'The last Vic and Bob was 2017, so that was the last time we did a comedy show.'
But despite turning his back on celebrity, he is never idle. Jim, who lives in Kent with his wife Nancy, 50, says: 'I get up every morning very early, go into the studio, paint, and go out for a walk in the afternoon. I like that a lot better.'
He credits his early childhood experiences in Hurworth, near Darlington, Co Durham, for inspiring his love of nature. And his fascination with the countryside bleeds into his artwork, which often features paintings of birds.
Speaking ahead of his latest exhibition, called Knot Twister Prologue, he recalls: 'There were no laptops when I was a kid. I was outdoors, out in nature all the time.'
'When I was out walking with Nancy 20 years ago, I kept saying 'there is that bird', and I would describe it in detail, and so she wanted to learn about it.
'It gives you a reason to go out, but it is more random than train spotting because you do not know what you are going to see. It is a great excuse to be out there in nature. I never get sick of it. I love it.
Knot Twister Prologue launches on May 16 at the Biscuit Factory as part of The Late Shows, Newcastle and Gateshead's celebration of after-hours culture, with special evening access from 6pm to 10.30pm. All works are for sale. It runs until July 16.
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