David Mitchell was born on 14th July 1974 in Salisbury, England. His parents, Ian and Kathy Mitchell, worked as hotel managers in Salisbury. David also has a brother. In 1977, the family moved to Oxford, where his parents taught a course in hotel management at Oxford Brookes University. David was educated at Abingdon School in Oxfordshire. He has been writing comedy material since his schooldays when he used to write comedy sketches with his friends. A year before he went to college, David worked for a while as a proofreader for the Oxford University Press. He studied History at Peterhouse College, Cambridge. Whilst he was studying at Cambridge University, he joined the Cambridge Footlights, where he met his comedy partner, Robert Webb. David became President of the Cambridge Footlights and after graduation, he and Robert staged a two-man show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Early in his career, David worked as a freelance writer on comedy sketch shows, including 'Armstrong and Miller' and 'Big Train'. He also appeared as Owen, the IT specialist, in 'Think the Unthinkable', a BBC Radio 4 situation comedy about a firm of management consultants. David made a guest appearance as Owen in one episode for the first series. This episode was broadcast on 6th November 2001. His character proved to be so popular that Owen was co-opted as a full member of Unthinkable Solutions, and David appeared in all six episodes of Series 2 of 'Think the Unthinkable'. These episodes were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from 7th November 2002 to 12th December 2002.
In 2001, David and Robert co-wrote a six-part comedy sketch show, 'The Mitchell and Webb Situation', which was broadcast on Play UK. The series was directed by David Kerr, who would later work with David and Robert on their BBC2 sketch show, 'That Mitchell and Webb Look', and several sketches featured the actress Olivia Colman. Also in 2001, David bought his first home, a small flat in the Kilburn district of London.
In 2003, David was cast as Mark Corrigan in the Channel 4 situation comedy, Peep Show. This series follows the lives of Mark and his friend Jeremy, played by Robert Webb, who share a flat in Apollo House, a London apartment block. Mark works for a company called JLB Credit. His work colleagues include Sophie Chapman, played by Olivia Colman. The show has a distinctive look because of its extensive use of subjective camera angles, as viewers are shown events from Mark and Jeremy's point of view. The series also makes use of voiceovers in which Mark and Jeremy reveal their innermost thoughts.
The first series was broadcast in six episodes between 19th September 2003 and 24th October 2003. Peep Show was an instant success. The show was nominated for the BAFTA television award for best situation comedy in 2004, and a second series was quickly commissioned. This was broadcast in six episodes on Channel 4 between 12th November 2004 and 17th December 2004. As a result of David's filming commitments for the second series of Peep Show, he was only available to record some of the episodes for the third series of the Radio 4 sitcom, 'Think the Unthinkable', which was broadcast in six parts between 13th July 2004 and 17th August 2004. To explain his absence, the writers devised a storyline in which David's character Owen went into hiding, and a new IT consultant, Jed, played by Robin Ince, was drafted in to cover for him.
The first series of 'That Mitchell and Webb Sound', a comedy sketch show, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 28th August and 2nd October 2003. All of the characters in the radio show were played by David, Robert, Olivia Colman, and James Bachman. It was in Episode 5 of Series One, broadcast on 25th September 2003, that a character called Sir Digby Caesar Salad made his first appearance. Sir Digby was played by Robert, and David took the role of his trusty sidekick Ginger. These characters would later feature prominently in the sketch show when it transferred to BBC2 in 2006.
After the success of the first run of six episodes, 'That Mitchell and Webb Sound' was commissioned for a second series, which was broadcast in six parts between 10th February and 17th March 2005. Episode 5 of the second series, which went out on 24th February 2005, included a sketch about a game show called Numberwang. David returned to play Owen in the fourth and final series of 'Think the Unthinkable'. This consisted of four episodes broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 28th September and 19th October 2005.
David ended 2005 by starring in the third series of Pe
