He moved to Manchester's Piccadilly Radio in 1989 and, as the station gained a new identity and became Key 103, presented the popular afternoon show and developed, wrote and produced IQ, his own specialist weekend music programme.
The duo rapidly established a cult following with their witty and slightly risquė banter, and in 1998 won a Sony Radio Academy Award for their show.
This they did very successfully, sticking to their well-established formula of slightly risquė banter about contemporary news and culture, with Mitchell tending to play the "straight man" to the more outrageous Lloyd.
Guests included Morrissey, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Pixies, The Killers, New Order, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger.
From April 2006 until May 2009, Mitchell presented shows for BBC Radio 2, featuring interviews with guests including Sam Moore, John Legend, Gloria Jones, The Velvelettes, Ronnie Spector and Noddy Holder.
American broadcaster Leslie 'Radio Chick' Gold guested as the show's USA correspondent, while Professor Timothy English looked into plagiarism in music.
Motorcity Blues aired on 10 January on Radio 2, with a fascinating portrait of the city of Detroit and how its events and people have shaped the Motown label.
Other guests included Jarvis Cocker, Shaun Ryder, Paul Weller, Bernard Sumner, Mike Joyce, Delphic, Ian McCulloch, Dave Grohl, Jack White and Courtney Love.
[3] Screamadelica and The Second Summer of Love, produced and narrated by Mitchell, aired on Absolute 90s, billed as the UK's only station dedicated to music from that decade, on 26 November 2010 at the end of a week of Primal Scream activity timed to coincide with the band's Screamdelica live dates.
It charted the making of the album, including an interview with singer Bobby Gillespie, as well as examining the wider context of the dance music explosion and rave culture, with contributions from The Inspiral Carpets' Clint Boon, Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam and Scream vocalist Denise Johnson.
He regularly had star guests who have included Earth, Wind & Fire, John Legend, Smokey Robinson, George Clinton, Candi Staton, The O'Jays and Mary Wilson of the Supremes, who pick their favourite soul and funk recording.
Mitchell had also DJed at Manchester venue The Haçienda and at Alan McGee's Death Disco at Notting Hill Arts Club.