Jim Moir Net Worth 2026: Career, Art & Income Sources
Jim Moir Net Worth reflects decades in comedy, TV and art. See how Vic Reeves built income from shows, music, painting and exhibitions.
Author:James RowleyMar 15, 20263.7K Shares53.9K Views
James Roderick Moir was born on 24 January 1959 in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He was the son of James Moir and Audrey Moir; his father worked as a printer and his mother as a seamstress. As a child he was commonly called by his middle name, Roderick (often shortened to "Rod"), to distinguish him from his father and grandfather (both also named James). He had one younger sister, Lois. When Jim was about five years old, the family moved from Leeds to the outskirts of Darlington in County Durham, where he spent the rest of his childhood.
Moir grew up in a creative, culturally engaged household. His mother frequently attended evening classes in painting, pottery and other arts, and the family often spent weekends exploring galleries, stately homes and castles. His parents encouraged his imagination and artistic interests.
He enjoyed drawing from an early age and even won contests as a boy submitting a portrait of singer Marc Bolan under his sister’s name to a children’s magazine, and winning a drawing competition on a cereal box by sketching a combine harvester. He later recalled that he could barely remember a time when he wasn’t painting or drawing. He was also fascinated by the natural world; as a child he spent hours reading natural history books and anatomy at the Darlington library.
In his teenage years Moir pursued both artistic and musical interests. He played bass guitar in a local band called Trout during the 1970s. After finishing school he initially took up a mechanical engineering apprenticeship in Newton Aycliffe. He later moved to London to continue his education in the arts: he attended Sir John Cass College in Whitechapel, London, then known as the Sir John Cass School of Art, in the early 1980s, completing a foundation art course.
| Full Name | James Roderick Moir |
| Stage Name | Vic Reeves |
| Date of Birth | 24 January 1959 |
| Profession | Comedian, TV presenter, actor, visual artist |
| Primary Income Sources | TV shows, comedy writing, artwork sales, books, music |
| Famous For | Reeves & Mortimer duo, Shooting Stars, surreal comedy |
| Art Career | Multiple exhibitions; known for bird-themed paintings |
| Notable TV Projects | Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir, Coronation Street (2023) |
| Current Focus | Painting, exhibitions, selective TV work |
| Jim Moir Net Worth (2026) | His exact net worth has not been publicly verified |
Jim Moir Career
Jim Moir (born 24 January 1959) is an English comedian, television personality and visual artist. Under the stage name Vic Reeves he became a household name in British comedy, while also pursuing a lifelong passion for painting.
Moir’s career spans over four decades, beginning in the 1980s on the alternative comedy circuit and continuing through hit TV series and gallery exhibitions into the 2020s. He is best known for his surreal humour and inventive persona, yet has also built a reputation as a prolific painter of British wildlife.
Throughout his career Moir has combined roles as a performer, writer, presenter and visual artist, with each phase marked by new creative ventures and successes.
The Vic Reeves Persona And Rise In British Comedy
Moir studied art at London’s Sir John Cass School in the early 1980s, then began performing comedy under various eccentric personas. By the mid-1980s he invented Vic Reeves, a gaudy, moustachioed variety-show entertainer whose absurdist routines and props drew attention at small clubs in London.
In 1986 his stage show Vic Reeves Big Night Outbecame a late-night fixture at a New Cross pub; it was there that he met Bob Mortimer, a solicitor who joined the act. The duo’s quirky style, part lounge act, part chaotic game-show, quickly gained a cult following among students and comedy fans.
Early TV appearances on Channel 4’s music magazine The Tubeand on Jonathan Ross’s late-night show gave Moir national exposure. This led to Vic Reeves Big Night Outbeing commissioned as a six-part Channel 4 series in 1990.
Moir’s outrageous Vic Reeves character, billed as “North-East’s top Light Entertainer”, established him as a distinctive voice in British comedy, known for one-liners, non sequiturs and surreal sketches.
Comedy Partnership With Bob Mortimer And Breakthrough Success
The partnership of Moir and Mortimer became one of the defining comedy duos of the 1990s. After Mortimer began appearing regularly in the Big Night Outact, the pair moved into television writing and performance together.
They rented a studio with musician Jools Holland to develop material, and co-wrote all their major projects. In 1993 they launched The Smell of Reeves and Mortimeron BBC2, a fast-paced surreal sketch show that cemented their reputation.
Around the same time Moir and Mortimer created Shooting Stars, a wildly irreverent panel quiz show also on BBC2, which became a long-running hit.
Throughout the 1990s the duo wrote and starred in a string of series (including Bang Bang, It’s Reeves and Mortimerin 1999) that blended stand-up, sight gags and bizarre games.
Their double-act success was shared: Moir provided the Vic Reeves persona and visual flair (often playing a deranged character), while Mortimer played various bemused straight-men roles.
Together they transformed fringe comedy style into mainstream TV success, pioneering a form of British humour that embraced nonsense and unpredictability.
Iconic TV Shows: Vic Reeves Big Night Out, Shooting Stars And More
Jim Moir’s television work includes several landmark series. His debut show Vic Reeves Big Night Out(Channel 4, 1990–1991) was a cult sketch and variety programme that introduced characters like Grumbly Greg and The Man with The Stick, and featured his first television appearances by Mortimer.
In 1993 Moir and Mortimer launched The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer(BBC2), a fast-cut sketch show acclaimed for its anarchic humour. They also created Shooting Stars(BBC2, debut 1993), a long-running comedy panel game which became one of the duo’s most famous formats.
This show, with celebrity guests and recurring jokes, ran for several series and is often cited as a classic of British comedy.
In 1999 Moir starred in Bang Bang, It’s Reeves and Mortimer(BBC2), a continuation of their surreal sketch format, and he appeared as lead actor Marty Hopkirk in the BBC revival of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)(2000–2001).
Other notable projects include co-writing and acting in the comedy-dramas Catterick(BBC, 2004) and the sitcom House of Fools(BBC2, 2012–2014).
Moir also presented quiz and documentary-style programmes, for example, he fronted Vic Reeves Examines(UK Play, 2000) and historic profiles like Rogues’ Gallery(Discovery UK, 2005), showcasing his talent as a presenter and performer beyond pure comedy.
Over the years Moir has occasionally appeared as a celebrity guest on British game shows and panel programmes, but he remains best known for the shows he created with Bob Mortimer.
Jim Moir’s Artistic Career And Work As A Painter
Aside from comedy, Moir has sustained a parallel career as an artist. He describes painting as his first passion: “Painting is what I always wanted to do,” he has said, underscoring how he maintained an art studio routine even during his comedy years.
His work, often vibrant, meticulous bird and wildlife portraits with subtle surreal twists, has been exhibited widely. Moir’s paintings have been shown at respected institutions including London’s Saatchi Gallery and Royal Academy, Newcastle’s Biscuit Factory and Cornwall Contemporary gallery.
In 2025 he held his first national museum exhibition at Liverpool’s Lady Lever Art Gallery, titled “Dawn to Dusk: Birds by Jim Moir” (June–November 2025), which displayed around 45 original bird paintings (many created for the show).
His solo shows typically feature an eclectic mix of detailed avian subjects and whimsical scenes, reflecting his “precise, intense” style praised by critics.
Art reviewers have dubbed him “the Warhol of bird painting” for his pop-art sensibility, and fellow naturalist Chris Packham has noted that Moir “doesn’t just see birds, he looks at them, so intensely that he understands them.”
Moir’s body of work includes not only oils and watercolours of British wildlife but also themed collections, for example, a recent exhibition showcased 100 small paintings of everyday food items with humorous labels.
He often cites his early art training (with a childhood studying at Darlington and then London art schools) as the foundation for this parallel career.
Through gallery shows, art fairs and an official website, Moir now sells prints and originals of his work and has become known as a “prolific artist,” creating new paintings almost daily.
Major Achievements, Recognition, And Career Milestones
Over the course of his career Moir has accumulated numerous milestones. In the music realm, Vic Reeves released the album I Will Cure You(1991), which reached No. 16 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned a No. 1 hit single (“Dizzy” with The Wonder Stuff).
In television, Reeves & Mortimer collected several industry honours: for example, they won a Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award in 2012 (for their sitcom House of Fools), and in 2011 they received a Loaded LAFTAS (London Comedy Film Festival award).
Comedy polls and critics have given further recognition: The Observerin 2003 listed Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer among the “50 funniest acts in British comedy”, and in 2005 a poll of UK comics ranked them the ninth-greatest comedy act ever.
Moir’s programmes have earned British Comedy Awards and consistently high audience praise, cementing his status as a comedy icon. In the art world, Moir achieved the rare distinction of exhibiting his paintings at a national cultural institution (Lady Lever Art Gallery, 2025).
He has collaborated on creative projects beyond comedy, such as providing illustrations for Charlie Higson’s 2025 history book Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee. Moir has also fronted major television events, for instance, he co-hosted the Netflix gardening competition The Big Flower Fight(2020), demonstrating his versatility.
Each decade of Moir’s career has featured new achievements: from pioneering comedy series and chart success in the 1990s to gallery retrospectives and television appearances in the 2020s, his resume is marked by continuous innovation and acclaim.
Jim Moir’s Influence On British Comedy And Art
Jim Moir’s work, particularly his partnership with Bob Mortimer, is widely viewed as highly influential in British comedy. Reeves & Mortimer helped kick-start a wave of surreal, absurdist humour in the 1990s, inspiring later comedians who embrace offbeat, non-linear comedy.
Their style, blending variety-show pastiche, wordplay and chaotic sketches, broke from traditional stand-up conventions and showed that mainstream audiences could embrace the eccentric. Many contemporary British comic acts and writers cite Reeves & Mortimer as inspirations.
Moir’s influence also extends into the art world: by achieving success as both a comedian and a serious painter, he has challenged the notion that celebrity artists can only be gimmicky.
His dedication to painting and the acclaim it has received suggest he has broadened perceptions of comic performers.
Current Work, Media Presence, And Creative Projects
Since 2021 Jim Moir has continued to appear regularly in media and exhibitions. He fronted a BBC walking documentary series (Walking with Jim Moir, 2021) and has guested on celebrity art programs such as Landscape Artist of the Yearand Grayson’s Art Club.
In 2020 he co-hosted the Netflix series The Big Flower Fight, marking his entry into international streaming. He remains active in television and entertainment programming.
In late 2023 Moir premiered Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moiron Sky Arts (Season 1), a series in which he and his wife Nancy traveled across Britain and Ireland to paint native bird species with guest appearances by figures such as Chris Packham and Imelda May.
The show’s Christmas special (December 2023) featured Bob Mortimer joining a joint episode. A second season of Painting Birdsran in spring 2024, concluding with an episode set in Ireland (airing June 2024).
On the art front, Moir’s schedule includes major exhibitions. He held What A Load Of Monarchsat RedHouse Originals in Harrogate (Oct–Nov 2025), featuring paintings from Charlie Higson’s upcoming monarchy book.
He presented Scran!at Dartmouth’s Dart Gallery (Oct 2025). His Dawn to Dusk: Birdsexhibition at Liverpool’s Lady Lever Art Gallery (June–Nov 2025) marked his first museum show of bird paintings.
A retrospective collection of his wildlife paintings is planned at Bradford’s Cartwright Hall (March–August 2026). Moir also maintains an online presence through his official website where original artworks and limited-edition prints are offered.
In recent interviews he has indicated a stronger focus on painting and artistic projects. His current work reflects a balance between television appearances and an expanding portfolio of visual art.
Jim Moir Net Worth
As of 2026, his net worth has not been publicly disclosed, and no figure has been officially verified by major financial authorities. He derives income from his television and radio comedy work (including series he co-created and starred in), music releases, book authorship, and his visual art through exhibitions and sales of original paintings and prints. Specific earnings from these sources have not been publicly disclosed.
FAQs
What Is Jim Moir Famous For?
Jim Moir became famous for creating the character Vic Reevesand starring in comedy shows such as Vic Reeves Big Night Out, The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, and Shooting Stars. His work is known for its surreal humor and unusual game-show formats. He has also built a respected career as a wildlife painter.
When Was Jim Moir Born?
Jim Moir was born on 24 January 1959in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. He later grew up near Darlington in County Durham, where he spent most of his childhood.
Is Jim Moir Also An Artist?
Yes. In addition to comedy, Jim Moir is an established visual artist, particularly known for detailed paintings of birds and British wildlife. His work has been exhibited in galleries across the UK, including exhibitions in London and Liverpool.
Who Is Jim Moir’s Comedy Partner?
Jim Moir’s long-time comedy partner is Bob Mortimer. The duo collaborated on several influential television series and became one of the most recognizable comedy partnerships in British entertainment.
What Television Shows Has Jim Moir Appeared In?
Jim Moir has appeared in or co-created several television programmes, including Vic Reeves Big Night Out, The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, Shooting Stars, and House of Fools. He has also presented documentaries and entertainment shows such as The Big Flower Fightand Walking with Jim Moir.
James Rowley
Author
James Rowley is a London-based writer and urban explorer specialising in the city’s cultural geography. For over 15 years, he has documented the living history of London's neighbourhoods through immersive, first-hand reporting and original photography. His work foregrounds verified sources and street-level detail, helping readers look past tourist clichés to truly understand the character of a place.
His features and analysis have appeared in established travel and heritage publications. A passionate advocate for responsible, research-led tourism, James is an active member of several professional travel-writing associations.
His guiding principle is simple: offer clear, current, verifiable advice that helps readers see the capital with informed eyes.
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