Mark Chapman was born 11 October 1973 in Wardle, near Rochdale, Lancashire, England. He grew up in Sale, Greater Manchester, where he developed an early passion for radio broadcasting. As a teenager he wanted to work at BBC Radio 1 and became involved in school broadcasting activities while attending Manchester Grammar School.

Chapman joined the BBC in 1996 as a continuity announcer on BBC One and BBC Two, later moving into sports reporting. He became widely known through BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat sports bulletins and later joined BBC Radio 5 Live, where he hosted sports programmes including 5 Live Sport and Sports Report.

In 2013 he became the main presenter of Match of the Day 2 on BBC One, and later one of the lead presenters of Match of the Day following Gary Lineker’s departure. Chapman also leads BBC coverage of the Rugby League World Cup and Challenge Cup, while appearing on Sky Sports for EFL Cup coverage.

Chapman was married to Sara Chapman and the couple had three children. Sara died from cancer in 2020, a loss he has spoken about publicly.