Mark 'Chappers' Chapman

Chappers - or Chopper as he's sometimes known - spoke to Unofficial Mills about a variety of topics. Here's what he had to say...

How did you get your job at Radio 1? It was advertised and I applied.

If you were not a sports journalist, what would you be doing? No idea at all - probably doing something in sport.

If you could swap jobs with anyone for a day who would it be with and why? I would like to Cheryl Tweedy's backstage dresser on the Girls Aloud tour.

What would you do if you were invisible for the day? I wouldn't like to be invisible. I'm paranoid enough.

Have you ever had an argument or fallen out with Scott? Sad as this may sound, never.

Describe an average day in the life of Mark Chapman. I get in to work about 8.30am where I start preparing stuff for the show. This tends to involve a lot of research for the sport bulletins, making sure they are factually correct, finding the audio and editing it all and then writing the material. Sometimes I have time for lunch but not often and occasionally there are voice-overs to be done. Then we do the show between 4 and 7 and then I tend to hang around for a couple of hours afterwards to be across all the evening sport before going home.

Who do you prefer to work with, Dave or Mills? Impossible to answer. I love the variety of Scott's show and the fact that I can dip in and out. I love the responsibility and being in charge of the desk and all the buttons etc when I work with Dave. Also I like the fact that working with Dave has led to us doing the Chappers and Dave World Tour. Doing gigs is a real laugh.

Was it more fun on the Breakfast show with Coxy, or 'drive' with Scott? That's not a fair question either. Working with Coxy was a real laugh. You never knew what was coming next and to do the Radio 1 Breakfast Show for 4 and a half years (I worked with Zoe as well) was a fantastic experience. That was what I wanted to do since I was 13. Working with Mills is more relaxed and less pressurised and as I say I like the features and the acting! I could get panto out of it.

What is your Favourite TV show? Corrie

What type of music do you like? Guitar based stuff like the Killers and Embrace. Madchester stuff like Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and James and great big camp pop like Girls Aloud

What is your favourite food? Sunday Roast

Favourite drink? Boddingtons

Have you ever had to give out the flirt divert number? You're joking aren't you. Been a long time since a girl approached me.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get a job on the radio? Get work experience and be lucky.

Who is your all time favourite Manchester United player? Eric Cantona or Bryan Robson

Do you remember the first game you saw at Old Trafford? October '81. I went for my 8th birthday with my dad and some friends. Beat Wolves 5-0, Sammy McIlroy got a hat trick and Bryan Robson signed on the pitch before the game.

What's the secret to Chappers and Dave still being on the air after all this time? How much do you pay your boss to keep it on-air? Unfortunately we cannot reveal the secrets to our amazing success at Radio One. If we did any old trained chimp would be able to do our jobs. However I can say that always being grateful and cheap will help any radio presenter�s career. Dave is probably the most grateful and cheap presenter I know.

When filling in for other DJs, which show do you most prefer doing? I quite like being in Scott's slot. He also seems to like this because it makes him seem so much better when he returns. I like it because it gives me a break from Dave. However when we are together Vernon's hours are the best. You get to talk football on the Saturday and play great music on the Sunday.

How did it feel at Christmas to have to come into work and have to work with Dave when you could be at home with family watching Christmas TV like some of the other DJs? I always get Christmas Day with my little boy so that's all that matters. Christmas TV is usually crap so I don't mind missing that, Dave's motorway anecdotes are more entertaining. That's how bad festive telly is.

When you first came on air as a duo you were branded the "Saint and Greavsie for a new generation", but more recently you've become known by fellow DJs as the "Bert and Ernie of Radio 1". Do you agree with either of those, or is there a more prominent duo that best describes you and Dave? Who the hell has called us Bert and Ernie? How rude. Mind you JK and Joel get called worse. I would say given our djaying successes we are probably the Chemical Brothers of Radio 1.

That was Chris Moyles by the way. Some might say three-and-in is a shambolic feature, but after several years it's still going strong. What do you think is the secret to its success? It isn't a success. Fact. It is embarrassingly shocking and I don't wish to be associated with it.

Are you ever put to shame by the amount of musical knowledge and useless facts that Dave knows? Not at all. I am quite relieved that I actually have a life and get out and have kissed girls rather than spending my teenage years immersed in trivia.

Brian Connelly or Brian Dowling? Connelly is funny, charming, friendly, self deprecating and a pleasure to know. Dowling isn't.

You've taken myspace by storm, with over 15,000 friends. What's your secret? Accept everybody! Also and this sounds really w*nky but we do try and reply to a lot of the messages particularly if they come from attractive people.

We've seen you and Dave do a lot of television work based around sport from time to time, would you like to do more TV work? Don't know to be honest. I don't mind doing telly but it can take so long to do. Radio is much more fun and spontaneous.

You write for sports magazines too, is either sport or media more important to you. Think the two are linked nowadays to be honest but sport will always be my first love.

After reading around there appears to be a lot of interest in getting Chappers and Dave a permanent weekend slot, would you both be up for doing that - with or without Scott's weekday show? Jesus Christ - what have you been reading? Have our mum's started up a Chappers and Dave for weekends campaign like the Free Deirdre campaign? I think things work just fine as they are, although we would do whatever we were asked to. Apart from work with Brian Dowling.

As regulars on the gig scene, did you think the Chappers and Dave World Tour would take off as well as it has? Do you think Kanye West was impressed with your work? We never met Kanye because his appearance with us was getting more publicity than his tour so he was made to pull out. I kid you not. We had no idea it would take off as it has. Trust us; nobody is more astonished than us.

Your myspace caption says "What Goes On Tour Stays On Tour" - can you reveal a bit more about what happens on tour, and what could we expect if we go to one of your gigs? No, pay your money like everybody else does you cheeky gets.

What's been the most bizarre gig you've done so far? The last one was quite strange. We did it on the back of an articulated lorry in the pouring rain at the RAF in Norfolk. We had to go through all sorts of security checks before getting soaked for 2 hours and then with 10 minutes left of the gig we decided to go on the fairground rides there and nearly puked up the 9 cans of Boddingtons (that's BODDINGTONS) that we had drunk each. We should point out that excessive drinking is neither big or clever particularly if you go on the dodgems.

Finally Chappers... How did you end up working at Radio 1? I wanted to work at Radio 1 since I was 12. Did work experience, hospital radio etc. Then did a postgrad. in broadcast journalism. Joined the BBC as a contiunity announcer, took 6 months off to be a cricket reporter, came back to announcing and then applied to be the sports presenter at Radio 1 when it was advertised. The rest as they say is history. I�ve been here 7 years as of September.

Thanks Chappers! Before you go... do you still believe the people of Unofficial Mills regularly meet up "spray tanned, with dazzling white teeth, white wine a-go" and discuss celebrity calls and the chart show, like you said most Mills fans do last year. And does the website scare you? Of course I don't. I believe that you now discuss Laura's Diary, angry pizza guy and Scott�s random TV appearances while still being spray tanned with dazzling white teeth and drinking white wine. And does the website scare me? Of course it bloody does. You all know more about me than I do. It doesn't get scarier than that.