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Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973 in Farnworth, near Bolton, England) is a writer, producer, actor and comedian. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing (2000), Phoenix Nights (2001 - 2002), Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere (2004), as well as other independent productions.
After leaving Mount St Joseph High School, Kay took several menial jobs, including working in a toilet roll factory, Netto supermarket, and the bingo hall which inspired episodes or sequences in That Peter Kay Thing. He attended Salford University where he studied a Higher National Diploma in Media Performance. This involved a stand-up course and which was the course he naturally excelled in. His first stand-up was a competition in Manchester, hosted by later co-star and co-writer of Phoenix Nights, Dave Spikey. Peter was last on the bill and ended winning the competition, beating off fellow stand-up comedian Johnny Vegas who was also on the bill.
His earliest TV appearance was an interview with Granada Television in which he listed the contents of his room, as well as detailing his experience meeting Jimmy Savile. This would later be used in That Peter Kay Thing, in the role of Leonard De-Thompkinson.
Most recently Kay's experience working at the Manchester Evening News Arena inspired him to wear the official yellow jacket of the MEN Arena for the final performance of his Mum Wants a Bungalow tour. Kay has said that he sought a career in comedy. During his time working as a cinema usher, he experimented with stand-up, participating in several local events, as well as others at the Comedy Store in Manchester. Eventually, after losing his job at the cinema, he was presented with the choice between finding another relatively meagre position or moving into comedy. After being told by several of his family that he was talented, he swiftly chose stand-up. He also states that he became a comedian partly to clear debt - though this is believed to be a joke, referring only to the fact that he was out of work.
After he entered and won Channel 4's So You Think You're Funny contest in 1997, his first semi-professional stand-up appearances were at the 1998 Edinburgh Fringe festival, where he was nominated for the Perrier Award. During this time, he also appeared at various other clubs, such as London's influential Comedy Store, and the Barracuda Club in Lincoln. Although this led to a certain level of public recognition, it was only after his heavily-promoted show Live at the Top of the Tower in 2000 that Kay attained mainstream fame.
During this period, he appeared on several chat shows, such as Parkinson and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, having previously been a warm-up man for the former. Production also began on Phoenix Nights, which was to see him achieve critical acclaim as well as mainstream audience appreciation. Subsequent advertisements for John Smith's Bitter, which imitate the realistic style of Phoenix Nights, saw Kay develop his now much-repeated catchphrases "'Ave it!" and "Two Lamb bhunas".
In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 Funniest British Comedians. In addition, he made an appearance in a 2005 poll of comedians and critics to find The Comedian's Comedian, a search for the 50 greatest funnymen of all time. In March 2005 he also came top in a survey sponsored by the Jongleurs comedy club chain to find Britain's favourite comedian.
In 2006, a Channel 4 television show voted him as number one in 100 Funniest Moments, most notably for his stand-up act, and in particular for his description of a family wedding.
On 18 April 2006, Channel 4 broadcast a "Peter Kay Night", showing out-takes from Phoenix Nights (previously featured on DVD), a behind-the-scenes documentary of the Mum Wants a Bungalow tour and also the whole Peter Kay Live in Manchester show. During this evening, Kay was seen in character as Max (from Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere & Phoenix Nights) discussing the tribute with Paddy (Patrick McGuinness). Max stated that he did not like Peter Kay, and thought that Channel 4 was going downhill for dedicating a whole night to him. Paddy commented that he wondered why ITV have not snapped up Kay. Max is also seen to be ignorant of current events, from not realising that civil partnerships are now legal and that Elton John has made use of it, to more controversial news stories involving Michael Barrymore, Gary Glitter, Diana, Princess of Wales and Michael Jackson. Channel 4 repeated the "Peter Kay Night" on 25 March 2007.
On April 21st 2007, it was revealed that Peter will team up with Craig Cash, of The Royle Family, to write a new sitcom in which Peter will play a binman (which is his dream job, apparently). They are currently in talks with broadcasters.
Kay's first TV project was in an episode of New Voices, a comedy series which showcased up and coming talent. His episode, "Two Minutes", written by Johanne McAndrew, saw him play a getaway driver as two of his mates attempted to rob a pub of its takings. This was broadcast in 1997. After appearing on BBC2's The Sunday Show presenting his own slot entitled "Peter Kay's World of Entertainment", Kay made an episode of Channel 4's The Comedy Lab, "The Services", in 1998. This served as a pilot for the later That Peter Kay Thing. His idea for this series was to create a testbed for ideas and concepts that he could later use within other series. The idea of having several characters all played by himself was something with which Kay experimented.
After a favourable reception to the pilot, That Peter Kay Thing was devised. It was based solely on the experiences of Kay's earlier life working in several menial jobs. The range of characters included the now legendary Brian Potter, who Kay said was a combination of all his bosses' personalities along with the voice of a man he knows, and the eccentric Leonard DeTomkinson, who is based on a real Leonard who used to visit Peter during his working time at the local Majestic Garage. Following continued success, Kay and his co-writers, Neil Fitzmaurice and Dave Spikey, eventually decided to create another series, and settled on "In the Club". This would use the character of Brian Potter, as well as improve other features that audiences were known to enjoy. The cast was slightly altered, elements thought to be unnecessary were removed, and it became reincarnated as Phoenix Nights.
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights was his notable TV programme, written by him, Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice and set in a newly refurbished social club run by wheelchair-bound Brian Potter. The club was based on an episode of That Peter Kay Thing entitled "In The Club". The cast of Phoenix Nights was made up almost entirely of stand-up comics whom the writers had met on 'the circuit'. The show was an immediate hit. It followed the story of the club and the various events that happened there. Expertly written, much of the humour was somewhat implicit - relying on subtle background clues and hints or paradoxes. The first series was partly filmed at St.Gregory's Social Club in Farnworth, Bolton - where the exterior, hallways and function suite were all used. Other sets, such as the Jocky Wilson suite, were built at Granada Studios. For the second series, all filming took place at St.Gregory's.
Peter has claimed that he has already written Series 3. However, it was written without Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice, both of whom co-wrote Series 1 & 2 and as of present do not speak to Kay. It is claimed they were upset that Kay named the series "Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights" (albeit an apparent decision by Channel 4 executives) and that Kay insisted on collecting the BAFTA[citation needed] for the series alone. Whilst many have embraced the news of a new series, others remain worried that without Spikey and Fitzmaurice as Jerry St Clair and Ray Von, on top of Max and Paddy not returning, the series is a flop.
Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere was a spin-off of Phoenix Nights. Featuring the bouncer characters from the show played by Peter Kay and Patrick McGuinness and even featured at times characters from Phoenix Nights. Made for Channel 4 to be shown on a Friday, 6 were made and the DVD is available in stores. A spoof workout DVD was created, starring McGuinness and Kay, entitled Max and Paddy's: The Power Of Two.
Since 2002, Kay has featured in television advertisements for John Smith's beer, through which his catchphrase — "'Ave it!" — gained popularity. He later claimed in his autobiography that he never meant to use "ave-it" as the catchphrase, he just said it.
He has had two cameo roles in Coronation Street. The first, in the late 1990s, was a brief appearance as a shopfitter, but in January 2004 he co-wrote his own scenes, appearing alongside real-life good friend, Sally Lindsay, who played Shelley Unwin.
On 17 June 2006, Kay appeared in a Doctor Who episode titled "Love & Monsters". His character, the sinister Victor Kennedy, proved to be an alien called the Abzorbaloff in disguise. Although the episode itself was quite comedic, Kay's role was more serious than those he normally plays.
He has also released several DVDs of live performances, including Live at the Top of the Tower, Live at the Bolton Albert Halls, Peter Kay: The Live Collections (The previous two combined) and Peter Kay: Live At Manchester Arena.
Kay's film appearances have included minor roles in 24 Hour Party People (2002), Roddy Smythe Investigates (2003) and The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005). He also provided a voice to the character PC McIntosh for the film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).
Kay also appeared at the BBC's televised charity event Comic Relief in 2003 and 2005, sharing the stage with Alan Partridge (actor Steve Coogan) in 2003. As part of the 2005 event, on 14 March , Kay promoted a re-release of Tony Christie's 1971 hit "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo?". The song had earlier featured in Phoenix Nights, and Kay performed in the accompanying music video. On Sunday, 20 March 2005, the single reached number one in the UK Singles Charts, and stayed there for seven consecutive weeks. In 2007 he released "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", originally by The Proclaimers, with Matt Lucas for Comic Relief.
He has appeared on numerous chat shows, including Parkinson and The Paul O'Grady Show. When he appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show (ITV1) at Christmas 2005, he came on in a Christmas tree costume. For his second appearance with Paul on The New Paul O'Grady Show (Channel 4) he was dressed as a Catholic Nun wearing a large mask of himself, mimicking the front cover of his new book, The Sound of Laughter. At Christmas 2006 he made a third appearance, this time dressed up as a snowman. On his fourth appearance, on 5th June 2007, he came onto the set dressed as a chicken. He also co-hosted Top of the Pops in character as Brian Potter alongside Fearne Cotton in January 2006.
Kay also had a cameo role in The Catherine Tate Show, playing an elderly gentlemen called Tommy, who was a good friend of Tate's fictional character Joannie "Nan" Taylor.
Kay appeared on stage at the Queen + Paul Rodgers concert at Manchester's MEN Arena (with Patrick McGuinness) and in Hyde Park in 2005 both as himself and in the persona of Brian Potter.
In September 2006 he co-presented the Edith Bowman afternoon show on BBC Radio 1 where he revealed that he had written a third series of Phoenix Nights. In addition two specials of Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere have been penned.
Since February 2007 he is playing flamboyant gay director Roger DeBris in the Mel Brooks musical, The Producers for the Manchester leg of the UK Tour, at the Manchester Palace Theatre until May 12, 2007.
On 15 March 2007, he was the first guest of the inaugural recording of Danny Baker's All Day Breakfast Show.
Kay lent his voice for the children's TV show, Roary the Racing Car as the voice of 'Big Chris' which first came to air on the 7th May.
Year
Song
UK Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
UK Download Chart
"Is This the Way to Amarillo"
1(7)
1(5)
1(4)
"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"
1(3)
1(3)
