Chris Columbus

Director who Mark describes as a "bean-counter" and whose movies are referred to as "accountancy film-making." Helmed the first two Harry Potter films that Mark hated, and after leaving that series as director went on to make Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Thief - and so was indirectly responsible for Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins.

Mark considers Matthew Vaughn to be the British version of Columbus.

When Mark was compiling a list of Top 10 Christmas movies in 2007, several listeners suggested the inclusion of Columbus's films Home Alone and / or Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (a film that, for Good Lady Professor Her Indoors-related reasons, holds a special place in Mark's heart). Mark refused to entertain this specifically on the grounds that he would not have a Chris Columbus film anywhere near his list. That was until another listener, Craig in Cardiff, wrote to point out that Gremlins was on the list - a movie that Columbus wrote. Mark confessed that for the first time in a long time, he had been hoist by his own petard and, worse, was rendered speechless. The resulting radio silence lasted 5.23 seconds.