Although he did not win the Perrier Comedy Awards in 1996, the nomination was enough to get him noticed, and in 1998 the BBC gave him his own television show, "Is It Bill Bailey?". Bailey's television debut had been on the children's show "Motormouth" in the late 1980s – playing piano for a mind-reading dog. Bailey reminisced about the experience on the BBC show "Room 101" with Paul Merton in 2000. In 1991, he was appearing in stand-up shows such as "The Happening", "Packing Them In", "The Stand Up Show" and "The Comedy Store". He also appeared as captain on two panel games, an ITV music quiz pilot called "Pop Dogs", and the Channel 4 science fiction quiz show "Space Cadets". "Is it Bill Bailey?" was the first time he had written and presented his own show.