Peter Kay

Friday, 23 November 2012

Parkinson: Peter Kay on Witnessing a Robbery

peter kay impression of a family wedding

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Max and Paddy AKA Peter Kay and Paddy Mcguinness - Part 1

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Belfast Odyssey
The Odyssey Arena is a large sports and entertainment centre situated in Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was jointly funded by the Millennium Commission, the Laganside Corporation, the DCAL, the Sheridan Group and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. The Arena opened in 2000 with the Pavilion later opening in 2001. The Odyssey Arena celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2010. The Odyssey is quoted to have cost £120 million on completion.
Since opening, the Odyssey Arena has hosted some of the world's best known bands and artists from around the world. Here are some of the artists that are scheduled to perform at the venue in the near future:

It has also hosted a number of World Wrestling Entertainment live events including RAW and SmackDown!. WWE visits the Odyssey at least once a year. It hosted UFC 72: Victory on 16 June 2007.
It's also hosted Premier League Darts the last three years.
As well as these high-profile sporting events, the Odyssey Arena has also hosted concerts by some of the best-selling music artists in the world and it's also home of the Belfast Giants.

wn.com/Belfast_Odyssey
Blackpool Tower
Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire in England which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. (grid reference SD 306 360). Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it rises to 518 feet 9 inches (158.12 metres). The tower is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers. The tower is a Grade 1 listed building.
The idea for the tower came when Blackpool Mayor John Bickerstaffe commissioned the design of a new landmark for the town after he visited the Exposition Universelle (World Fair) of 1889 and was impressed by the Eiffel Tower. When he returned to Blackpool he set up a committee of businessmen in order to raise the funds to build a similar design in the town.
He invested £2,000 of his own money to form, with other local investors, the Blackpool Tower Company Limited, registered on 19 February 1891.
Two Lancashire architects, James Maxwell and Charles Tuke, designed the Tower and oversaw the laying of its foundation stone, on 29 September 1891 with a time capsule buried beneath it. By the time the Tower finally opened on 14 May 1894, both men had died. The total cost for the design and construction of the tower and buildings was about £290,000. Five million bricks, 2,500 tonnes of iron and 93 tonnes of cast steel were used to construct the tower. The cast steel and iron are distributed in such a way that if it did ever collapse it would fall into the sea. A system of hydraulic riveting was used based on the technology of Fielding & Platt.

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Comedy Store
The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. It has a sister comedy club in La Jolla, San Diego, California.
The Comedy Store was opened in April 1972 by comedians Sammy Shore and Rudy DeLuca. The building was formerly the home of Ciro's, a hugely popular Hollywood nightclub owned by William Wilkerson, and later a rock and roll venue, where The Byrds were discovered in 1964.
When the venue reopened as The Comedy Store in 1972, it included a 99-seat theatre, where Johnny Carson was one of the first comics to perform. As a result of a divorce settlement, Sammy Shore's ex-wife Mitzi Shore began operating the club in 1973, and she was able to buy the building in 1976. She immediately renovated and expanded the club to include a 450-seat main room.
Beginning in 1979, The Comedy Store served for many years as the host location for the annual HBO Young Comedians specials. Also that year, stand-up comedians formed a short-lived labor union and demanded to be paid for their appearances at the Comedy Store.

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Coronation Street
Coronation Street is an English television soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The show has been on the air for over 51 years. Coronation Street is produced by ITV Granada Television under ITV Studios and shown in all ITV regions. It has been filmed in Manchester at the Granada Studios since inception, but filming will move to a new set at Media City in Trafford in 2013.
Since first being aired, it has been one of the most financially lucrative programmes on British commercial television, underpinning the success of its broadcaster ITV and its franchise Granada Television. On 17 September 2010, it became the world's longest-running TV soap opera in production, after the United States soap opera As the World Turns ended.
The first episode was aired on 9 December 1960 and was not initially a critical success; Daily Mirror columnist Ken Iriwin claimed the series would only last three weeks. Granada Television commissioned only 13 episodes and some inside the company doubted the show would last its planned production run. Despite the criticism, viewers were immediately drawn to the serial, won over by Coronation Street's 'ordinary' characters. The programme also made use of Northern English language and dialect; affectionate local terms like "eh, chook?", "nowt" (IPA /ˈnaʊt/, means nothing), and "by heck!" became widely heard on British television for the first time.

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County Tyrone
County Tyrone (from Irish: Tír Eoghain, meaning "land of Eoghan") is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 3,155 km², with a population of approximately 166,516, with its county town being Omagh. It is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland, lying within the historical province of Ulster.
Tyrone is the seventh largest of Ireland’s thirty-two counties in area and eighth largest in terms of population. It is the second largest of Ulster’s nine counties in size and fourth largest in terms of population.
The name Tyrone is derived from Irish: Tír Eoghain meaning "land of Eoghan". This Eoghan was son of king Niall of the Nine Hostages, and brother of Conall Gulban, who gave his name to the kingdom of Tír Chonaill. Historically, it was anglicised as Tirowen or Tyrowen, which are closer to the Irish pronunciation.
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on natural resources located there. Tyrone was the traditional stronghold of the various O'Neill clans and families, the strongest of the Gaelic Irish families in Ulster, surviving into the seventeenth century. The ancient principality of Tír Eoghain, the inheritance of the O'Neills, included the whole of the present counties of Tyrone and Londonderry, and the four baronies of West Inishowen, East Inishowen, Raphoe North and Raphoe South in County Donegal.

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England
England ⁱ/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.

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Farnworth
Coordinates: 53°32′43″N 2°24′00″W / 53.5452°N 2.3999°W / 53.5452; -2.3999
Farnworth is within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) southeast of Bolton, 5 miles south-west of Bury (7 km), and 9 miles (14.5 km) northwest of Manchester.
Historically a part of Lancashire, Farnworth lies on the River Irwell and the River Croal, and according to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it has a population of 25,264 people.
Farnworth derives from the Old English fearn, fern and worth an enclosure. Farnworth was recorded as Farneworth and Farnewrth in 1278 and 1279 and Ffornword in a land survey of 1282.
Farnworth was originally a hamlet in Barton. In the 13th century it was held by the Lords of Barton and Manchester. By 1320 Adam Lever, Richard Hulton and Richard Redford held the manor as tenants. Later the manor was acquired by the Hultons of Over Hulton. In 1666 there were 91 hearths in Farnworth liable to pay tax. The commons were enclosed in 1798. There was a watermill on the River Croal.

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Granada Studios Tour
Granada Studios Tour was an entertainment theme park at the Granada Studios complex in Castlefield, Manchester which operated from 1988 to 1999. The park was located in the heart of Manchester city centre adjacent to the Granada House building.
The tour attracted over 5 million visitors, but visitor numbers were waning by the late 1990s and Granada Television had to prioritise other economic problems such as the failure of ONdigital. As a result the Granada Studios Tour closed to the general public in 1999 and for good in 2001.
The park was the brainchild of Granada producer David Plowright, who had long been interested in developing the land around the Granada Studios complex in Manchester. There was scope to the plans as the studio facilities were only used for filming once a week, allowing visitors and production to work harmoniously. Furthermore much of the land that Granada owned was derelict and underused, with Plowright believing that such land should be cultivated.
Plowright's aim was to create a 'Hollywood-on-the-Irwell', a reference to the River Irwell which runs through Manchester. The Granada Group hierarchy which was the parent of Granada Manchester were pessimistic about Plowright's plans. Fortunately for Plowright, he gained the support of the Granada Television hierarchy, such as John Williams and commercial director Chris Mather.

wn.com/Granada_Studios_Tour
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Manchester and Salford. Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972.
Greater Manchester spans 493 square miles (1,277 km²). It is landlocked and borders Cheshire (to the south-west and south), Derbyshire (to the south-east), West Yorkshire (to the north-east), Lancashire (to the north) and Merseyside (to the west). There is a mix of high-density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but overwhelmingly the land use is urban. It has a focused central business district, formed by Manchester city centre and the adjoining parts of Salford and Trafford, but Greater Manchester is also a polycentric county with ten metropolitan districts, each of which has at least one major town centre and outlying suburbs. The Greater Manchester Urban Area is the third most populous conurbation in the UK, and spans across most of the county's territory.

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Lancashire
Lancashire ( /ˈlæŋkəʃər/ or, less commonly, /ˈlæŋkəʃɪər/) is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. Lancashire is sometimes referred to by the abbreviation Lancs, as originally used by the Royal Mail. The population of the county is 1,449,700. People from the county are known as Lancastrians.
The history of Lancashire is thought to have begun with its founding in the 12th century. In the Domesday Book (1086), some of its lands had been treated as part of Yorkshire. The land that lay Inter Ripam et Mersam, "between the Ribble and Mersey", formed part of the returns for Cheshire. Once its initial boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire and Cheshire.
Lancashire emerged during the Industrial Revolution as a major commercial and industrial region. The county encompassed several hundred mill towns and collieries. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire.Preston, Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, Chorley, Darwen, Nelson, Colne and Burnley were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a major centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashire's mill towns, particularly during wakes week.

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London
London ⁱ/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.

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Manchester
Coordinates: 53°28′N 2°14′W / 53.467°N 2.233°W / 53.467; -2.233
Manchester ⁱ/ˈmæntʃɛstər/ is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England with an estimated population of 498,800 in 2010. Manchester lies within one of the United Kingdom's largest urban areas; the Greater Manchester Urban Area which has a population of 2.2 million. The demonym of Manchester is Mancunian and the local authority is Manchester City Council.
Manchester is situated in the south-central part of North West England, fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south and the Pennines to the north and east. The recorded history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium, which was established in c. 79 AD on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically, most of the city was a part of Lancashire, although areas south of the River Mersey were in Cheshire. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but it began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city. An early 19th-century factory building boom transformed Manchester from a township into a major mill town and borough that was granted city status in 1853. In 1894 the Manchester Ship Canal was built, creating the Port of Manchester.

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The O2 (Dublin)
The O2 (stylised as The O₂) is a 14,000-seat amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland, which opened on 16 December 2008. The venue is jointly owned by Live Nation and Harry Crosbie (Amphitheatre Ireland Limited) with Live Nation in charge of programme booking and operating the venue. Amphitheatre Ireland Limited have owned and operated the venue led by Mike Adamson (Live Nation) CEO of Amphitheatre Ireland Limited since 1989. The venue has played host to many world renowned performers. Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance first premiered at the O2 in 1996 and did a comeback in November 2010 during the European tour.
In 2011, The O2 was the second busiest concert venue in the world, in terms of ticket sales, only behind its counterpart in London. In 2012 in was named as the fifth busiest arena in the world with ticket sales of 670,000 putting in behind London's O2 Arena, The Manchester Arena, Antwerp's Sportpaleis and Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena.
The O2 was built on the site of the former Point Theatre, a smaller music venue which operated from 1988–2007, retaining only some of the outer facade. Following its closure, the site underwent major redevelopment and was renamed after the telecommunication brand, O2, similar to The O2 in London. O2 paid €25 million (not verified) and, as part of the deal, 10-15 per cent of concert tickets will be made available to their 1.6 million Irish subscribers up to 48 hours in advance of going on general sale and O2 customers will also get fast-track access to the venue on the night of gigs and have exclusive use of two of the 14 bars on site. The mobile phone company also plans to make music content from Live Nation events around the world available to its subscribers.

wn.com/The_O2_(Dublin)
UK
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.

wn.com/UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.

wn.com/United_Kingdom

Alan Partridge
Alan Gordon Partridge OBE (Honour Removed) is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour. A parody of both sports commentators and chat show presenters, among others, the character has appeared in two radio series, three television series and numerous TV and radio specials, including appearances on BBC's Comic Relief, which have followed the rise and fall of his career.
Whereas many of his personality defects are apparent in his appearances in shows such as The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, it is largely from I'm Alan Partridge onwards that his creators began to explore his personality in depth, and most of the observations that follow originated in that show.

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Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Imelda Ceclia Ewen Burke (born August 25, 1988) is a British R&B and pop recording artist, songwriter, dancer and model. Born and raised in Islington, London, United Kingdom. Burke was exposed to music from an early age, with her mother being the lead singer of Soul II Soul. Burke rose to fame after winning the fifth series of British television series The X Factor in 2008. Burke currently stands as one of the most successful winners of The X Factor and she is currently signed to four record labels, Epic Records, RCA Records, Syco Music and Subliminal.

wn.com/Alexandra_Burke
Andy Pipkin
Lou Todd and Andy Pipkin are fictional characters from the cult BBC TV and radio show Little Britain, played by David Walliams and Matt Lucas respectively. Andy's catchphrases include, "Yeah I know", "Want that one" and "(I) Don't like it", while Lou's catchphrase is "What a kerfuffle!"
Lou is kind, generous and incredibly patient. He spends his spare time helping his friend Andy, who - unbeknown to Lou - feigns the need for a wheelchair. Moreover, his fashion sense primarily encompasses the 1980s, which is apparent from his general attire. He is typically seen wearing an awkward juxtaposition of trainers, blue tracksuit trousers, a T-shirt with slogans such as "I ran the World" or "Frankie Says RELAX - Don't do it" and a 1970s-style leather jacket with the sleeves pushed up to near the elbow. He speaks with a slight East London accent, with a lisp.
Andy is moody, contrary, has no respect for other sentient beings, appears to be unintelligent, has no interest in the world outside his local area, is very fat and plain lazy. Furthermore, Andy could be viewed as being genuinely mentally retarded, but this could just be regarded as the manifestation of his ignorant nature, and the perceived corruption of his psyche owing to watching too much television. He is also dressed mostly in scruffy clothing such as well-worn 'jogging bottoms' and a dirty vest. He speaks with a nasal, strong, slurred Liverpool accent. He has an unseen or unheard from brother called Declan, and previously had a woman called Maria (who died in one episode) as a caretaker before Lou (Lou mentioned her regularly in the early episodes of Series 1).

wn.com/Andy_Pipkin
Brian Potter
Brian Chelsea Potter, one of many fictional characters played by Peter Kay, is the owner of The Phoenix Club in both That Peter Kay Thing and Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights. He also appeared in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere.
Although Brian's age is uncertain, it is known that Brian was not paralysed in his earlier years, as it was seen in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. Before owning the Phoenix Club, Brian is noted to say he once ran the Barracuda Club in Lincoln, one of many places Peter Kay started doing his comedy routine in, standing on a crate. In an episode of That Peter Kay Thing, he also states that he ran the Aquarius club and that is where he lost the use of his legs. He claims that a fruit machine fell on top of him and pinned him up against a serving hatch. After that he was in a coma until the new year, then he'd lost his club, his legs and his will to live.
Brian took over the Aquarius Club after losses were seen, and soon with his management, he had big-name acts such as Bob Carolgees and Spit the Dog, Cannon and Ball and T'Pau, and was soon making profits on the bar of over £500 per night. However, after staying in late, most likely counting money, he was befallen by a tragic accident when the club flooded and a One-armed bandit fell over, crushing his legs, making him disabled. He had it rebuilt as the Neptune Club, opened in time for Talent Trek 1999. The Neptune burned down soon after, due to Potter's thriftiness on Christmas lights.

wn.com/Brian_Potter
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999, which became the best-selling album by a teenage solo artist. During her first decade in the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s, and became the 'best-selling teen aged artist of all time' before she turned 20, garnering her the honorific title of "Princess of Pop".

wn.com/Britney_Spears
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, OC OBC (born Bryan Guy Adams, 5 November 1959) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. For his contributions to music, Adams has many awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations, 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television in 1992. He has also won MTV, ASCAP, and American Music awards. In addition, he has won two Ivor Novello Awards for song composition and has been nominated for several Golden Globe Awards and three times for Academy Awards for his songwriting for films.
Adams was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia for contributions to popular music and philanthropic work via his own foundation, which helps improve education for people around the world.
Adams was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with the 2,435th star in March 2011 and Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998, and in April 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at Canada's Juno Awards. In 2008, Bryan was ranked 38 on the list of All-Time top artists by the Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary Charts. On 13 January 2010, he received the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award for his part in numerous charitable concerts and campaigns during his career, and on 1 May 2010 was given the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his 30 years of contributions to the arts.

wn.com/Bryan_Adams
Cher
Cher ( /ˈʃɛər/) (born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer, and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes, and a Cannes Film Festival Award for her work in film, music, and television. She is the only person in history to receive all five awards. She began her career as a backup singer and came to prominence in 1965 as one-half of the pop rock duo Sonny & Cher with the success of their song "I Got You Babe". She subsequently established herself as a solo recording artist and became a television star in 1971 with The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, a variety show for which she won a Golden Globe. A well-received performance in the film Silkwood earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress of 1983. In the following years, she starred in a string of hit films including Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, and Moonstruck, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress of 1987.

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Danny Baker
Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957, Deptford, South London) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio.
Baker was born in Deptford in south east London to a dock-working, union-leading father and factory-working mother and grew up in Bermondsey. He left school in 1972 at the age of 15 and initially worked in One Stop Records, a small but fashionable record shop in South Molton Street in London's West End.
In 1976, with fellow Deptfordian Mark Perry, Baker founded the proto-punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue, and this led to an offer from the New Musical Express, home to the likes of Julie Burchill, Tony Parsons, Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent. Baker initially began working as the office receptionist, but was soon contributing regular articles and reviews before progressing to interviews. He often refers to these times during his radio shows, regularly citing examples of the ridiculous behaviour exhibited by his rock star interviewees.

wn.com/Danny_Baker
Dave Spikey
Dave Spikey (born David Gordon Bramwell on 6 October 1951) is an English comedian, actor, writer and film producer, currently residing in Chorley, Lancashire.
Spikey spent his early career working as a biomedical scientist in the haematology laboratory at Bolton General Hospital. It was during this period in the 1980s that Spikey scripted and performed in a number of amateur pantomimes with a group of like-minded health workers called the Bolton Health Performers.^{[citation needed]}
He is married to Kathleen "Kay" (née Kenyon; born 8 May 1952) whom he has known since school. Despite this, and the fact that they were both students at Bolton General, Kay working in the Blood Transfusion Department, it was a while before they got together romantically. They are both vegetarians.
In 1992, Spikey was asked to form a double act with Rick Sykes, as purely a 'one-off' to support a popular musical duo called 'Intaglio'. Dave and Rick were known as Spikey and Sykey. The double act's most notable success came on Central TV's New Faces show.

wn.com/Dave_Spikey
Eamonn Holmes
Eamonn Holmes (born 3 December 1959) is a Northern Irish journalist and broadcaster. He is known for his work on UK television, notably presenting GMTV and This Morning. He is married to TV presenter Ruth Langsford.
Holmes is a former pupil of Holy Family Primary School in Belfast and St Malachy's College on the Antrim Road in Belfast. He then studied journalism at the Belfast College of Business Studies.
Holmes worked for a business journal before joining UTV, where he hosted Farming Ulster before becoming a presenter on regional news magazine Good Evening Ulster.
Holmes later moved on to network presenting the 1980s daytime programme Open Air on BBC1.
Holmes started at GMTV in 1993, after appearing in 1992 as an earnest police constable in Inspector Morse.
One infamous interview occurred when American illusionist David Blaine appeared on the show on 29 August 2001. Holmes cites this interview with Blaine as the most awkward moment of his professional career and one of TV's bloopers when he refused to speak and gave him the "evil eye".

wn.com/Eamonn_Holmes
Edith Bowman
Edith Eleanor Bowman (born 15 January 1974) is a Scottish music critic, radio DJ and television presenter. She is mostly known for hosting the weekday afternoon show and from September 2009 weekend morning on BBC Radio 1 and for presenting a variety of music related television shows and music festivals.
Bowman's first on-screen job on TV was as a news reader on MTV UK. She went on to host many shows for the station, including co-presenting chart show Hitlist UK with Cat Deeley, with whom she also presented travel show Roadtripping for BBC Choice in 2002.
She became a presenter on Channel 4's breakfast show RI:SE when it launched on 29 April 2002.
In 2004, she co-presented the BBC Scotland series Teen Commandments with Cameron Stout. After occasional appearances in 2003, Bowman co-presented Top of the Pops up until the end of the series, replacing Fearne Cotton while she was away. In total she appeared on the show ten times including the final weekly episode. She returned to Top of the Pops for the 2006 Christmas Special.

wn.com/Edith_Bowman
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.
In his four-decade career John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single "Candle in the Wind 1997" has sold over 33 million copies worldwide, and is the best selling single in Billboard history. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won six Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.
John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Having been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996, John received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" in 1998.

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Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and the head judge on the The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters. He has had two Number 1 singles and a Number 1 album as a solo artist, and has had sixteen top 5 hits, eleven Number 1 singles and seven Number 1 albums with Take That. He is also a six-time recipient of the Ivor Novello Award and has sold over 45 million records worldwide with Take That.
In Barlow's autobiography, he relates that his love of music began at an early age.
"I was one of those kids that's forever dancing in front of the TV looking at my reflection."
He said he enjoyed watching Top of the Pops on television, and when he was ten years old, he watched an episode of the programme in which Depeche Mode were performing their new single "Just Can't Get Enough". Barlow was mesmerised by the sound and decided he wanted a keyboard for Christmas. For the next few years, he spent most of his spare time teaching himself to play his favourite songs.

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Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter (born Paul Francis Gadd on 8 May 1944) is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.
Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s. He had a long solo UK chart run during the 1970s, with several hits including "Rock and Roll, Parts One and Two", "I Love You Love Me Love", "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)" and "Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again". Between 1972 and 1995, Glitter had 26 hit singles which spent a total of 180 weeks in the UK Top 100; twelve of those reached the Top 10, with three charting at number 1. He continued to record in the 1980s and 1990s, with his 1984 song "Another Rock N' Roll Christmas" being one of the Top 30 Christmas hits of all time. He released seven studio albums, and at least^[specify] 15 greatest hits collections or live albums. In 1998, his recording of "Rock and Roll" was listed as one of the top 1,001 songs in music history. The mostly instrumental "Rock and Roll, Part 2" has been played as a popular cheering song at American sporting events for several decades.

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Happy List
The Happy List is a list of 100 people in the United Kingdom "who give back, volunteer, and who make Britain a better balanced, happier country." It has been published annually in April by the Independent on Sunday, a British national Sunday newspaper, since 2008.
The BBC welcomed the first Happy List as "an antidote" to the Sunday Times Rich List, a longer-standing institution which is published on the same day. Following widespread comment in the UK and abroad, the Independent announced a week later that it would make the Happy List an annual fixture. The Wall Street Journal floated the idea of a Happy List for the United States, but this was not taken up.
The newspaper accepts that the list is an artificial exercise, but seeks to celebrate people representing much-needed values, in the hope that they will be seen as role models.
The first list included Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, cricketer and fundraiser Ian Botham, and author and philanthropist J. K. Rowling.
The WSJ noted that the list included wealthy individuals such as Duncan Bannatyne, quoting his opinion that "Britain’s rich don’t do enough for good causes."

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James (band)
James is a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American college radio hit "Laid". Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive but re-formed in January 2007, returning for a new album and international tour. Up to 2010, the band had sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.
James were formed in 1982 in Whalley Range, Manchester, when Paul Gilbertson convinced his friend Jim Glennie to buy a bass guitar and form a band with him. Their line-up solidified with the acquisition of Gavan Whelan on drums. They played a string of gigs under the names Venereal and The Diseases and, later, Volume Distortion, before settling on the name of Model Team International, then shortened to Model Team. They performed mostly improvised material derived from jam sessions, supporting The Fall at an early gig. Vocalists and other musicians drifted rapidly in and out of their line-up, until the band encountered Tim Booth at a student disco. Gilbertson invited him to the band's scout hut in Withington to join the band as a dancer. After a brief period under the name Tribal Outlook, the band renamed themselves James in August 1982. A gig at The Haçienda caught the attention of Tony Wilson of Factory Records. He offered James an album deal with Factory, but the band, by now a settled live act, were worried about tarnishing their material in the studio and settled instead for a three-track EP. Their debut release, the Jimone EP, was recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, in August 1983 and released on Factory Records in September. It was named single of the week by major music papers^[who?] in the UK, and led to a tour supporting The Smiths.

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Jill Dando
Jill Wendy Dando (9 November 1961 – 26 April 1999) was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader who worked for the BBC for 14 years. She was murdered by gunshot outside her home in Fulham, West London; her killer has never been identified.
Jill Dando was born in Ashcombe House Maternity Home, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, and was raised a Baptist. When she was three, it was discovered she had a hole in her heart and a blocked pulmonary artery. She had heart surgery on 12 January 1965. She was educated at Worle Infant School, Greenwood Junior School,Worle Comprehensive School, and Broadoak Sixth Form Centre, where she was head girl, and passed two A levels. She studied journalism at South Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education in Cardiff.
Dando was a keen thespian. She was a member of Weston-super-Mare Amateur Dramatic Society and Exeter Little Theatre Company, with whom she appeared in plays at the Barnfield Theatre.
Dando was a volunteer at Sunshine Hospital Radio in Weston-super-Mare in 1979. She started her first job as a trainee reporter for the local weekly newspaper, the Weston Mercury, where her father and brother worked. After five years as a print journalist, she began employment with the BBC when she became a newsreader for BBC Radio Devon in 1985. That year, she transferred to BBC South West, where she presented a regional news magazine programme, Spotlight South West. In 1987, she worked for TSW, then worked for BBC Spotlight in Plymouth. In early 1988, Dando made a move from regional to national television when she moved to London to present BBC television news.

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Jimmy Savile
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE KCSG (31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops. He was also known for his fundraising and support of various charities, particularly Stoke Mandeville Hospital. He was widely described as a philanthropist and was honoured for his efforts.
Savile was born in Leeds, the youngest of seven children (Mary, Marjory, Vincent, John, Joan, Christina and James) born to Agnes Monica (née Kelly) and Vincent Joseph Marie Savile, a bookmaker's clerk and insurance agent. Savile almost died of pneumonia at the age of five months.
He was a Bevin Boy, conscripted during World War II to work as a coal miner at South Kirkby Colliery, West Yorkshire, England. He suffered serious spinal injuries in a mine explosion and spent a long period in recuperation. Having started playing records in dance halls in the early 1940s, Savile claimed to be the first ever disc jockey. According to his autobiography, he was the first person to use two turntables and a microphone, at the Grand Records Ball at the Guardbridge Hotel in 1947. Savile is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of twin turntables for continuous play of music, though his claim has been disputed. (Twin turntables had been illustrated in the BBC Handbook in 1929 and were advertised for sale in Gramophone magazine in 1931.)

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Jocky Wilson
John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a professional darts player from Fife, Scotland. After turning pro in 1979 he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, then again in 1989. A contemporary and rival of Eric Bristow, Bob Anderson and John Lowe, Wilson won many titles in his career including the British Professional Championship a record four times between 1981 and 1988, as well as the prestigious British Open and Matchplay titles. He retired from the game in 1995, withdrew from public life, and was rarely seen in public or gave interviews before his death in 2012.
As a child, Wilson's parents were deemed unfit to raise him and Wilson spent much of his childhood in an orphanage. Wilson served in the British Army from 1966 to 1968.
He had been a coal delivery man and also a miner at Kirkcaldy's Seafield Colliery. However, it was a spell of unemployment which was to prove the catalyst to Jocky achieving darting greatness. During this period of unemployment, Jocky entered a darts competition at Butlins, Ayrshire in 1979, which he went on to win, claiming the top prize of £500. His success at this tournament convinced him that he should turn professional as darts was beginning to become popular on television and the World Championship was in its infancy.

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Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas (born Michael Joseph Pennington on 11 September 1971) is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.
He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence and Patricia Pennington. Vegas has two older brothers (Robert and Mark) and an older sister (Catharine). He was raised as a Roman Catholic, but is now non practising. At the age of eleven, he attended St Joseph's College in Upholland, a Roman Catholic boarding-school seminary, to train for the priesthood, but came back homesick after four terms. He also attended West Park School, Alder Hey Rd, St Helens.
He studied art and ceramic design at Middlesex University for three years and attempted to forge a career in pottery, but became disillusioned when he received a third class degree. Despite this, his passion for pottery continues to this day. He returned to St Helens and became a live-in barman.

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Keith Lard
Keith Winston Lard, is a fictional fire safety officer from Bolton, played by Peter Kay. Lard has appeared in two of Peter Kay's television comedies on Channel 4, That Peter Kay Thing (in the episode "Eyes Down") and in the first series of Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights.
Keith Lard is portrayed as an overzealous jobsworth who takes immense pride in his work raising awareness of fire safety through training seminars and safety inspections. He despises people's apathy and seemingly ignorant attitude toward fire safety, often scaring his bored audience with an air horn.
Lard's private life is the subject of speculation and ridicule regarding his unhealthy relationship with dogs (even with claims of bestiality). In his first appearance in "Eyes Down," Lard is seemingly oblivious to the snide comments made to him by the bingo staff attending his seminar. However, at the end of the episode he is seen being led away by police. When he appears in Phoenix Nights, it is made apparent by Brian Potter that he was charged with bestiality by the police but not convicted due to lack of evidence ("You try getting an Alsatian to testify!").

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Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (/ˈstɛfəniː dʒʌrməˈnɑːtə/ STE-fə-nee jurr-mə-NAH-tə; born March 28, 1986), known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and was signed with Streamline Records by the end of 2007. During her employment as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution.
Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the The Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with The Fame Monster (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". The album's success allowed her to embark on the eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which later became one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Her most recent album Born This Way (2011) topped the charts of most major markets and generated more international chart-topping singles, including "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory". Besides her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.

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Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor.
Lewis has released two albums to date, Spirit and Echo, in 2007 and 2009 respectively. A multi-platinum selling artist and three-time Grammy Award nominee, her most successful single, "Bleeding Love", reached number one in over thirty countries around the world, and was the best-selling single worldwide in 2008. Other notable singles include "Better in Time", "Happy" and "I Got You". She was proclaimed 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine in 2008.
Lewis's debut tour, The Labyrinth, took place in 2010, and her third album, Glassheart, is scheduled for release in 2012. It was preceded by "Collide", a single from the album, which became her seventh top-five hit in the United Kingdom. Lewis's net worth was estimated at £12 million in April 2012.

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Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947), better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor. He is noted for the Bat Out of Hell album trilogy consisting of Bat Out of Hell, Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose. Bat Out of Hell has sold more than 43 million copies. After more than 30 years, it still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually and stayed on the charts for over nine years, making it one of the best selling albums of all time.
Although he enjoyed success with Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell and earned a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo for the song "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" on the latter album, Meat Loaf experienced some initial difficulty establishing a steady career within his native US. However, he has retained iconic status and popularity in Europe, especially the UK, where he ranks 23rd for the number of weeks overall spent on the charts. He ranked 96th on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

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Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows. He became well known as part of the comedy duo with Carl Reiner, The 2000 Year Old Man. In middle age he became one of the most successful film directors of the 1970s, with many of his films being among the top ten money makers of the year that they were released. His most well known films include The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World, Part I and Spaceballs. More recently he has had a smash hit on Broadway with the musical adaptation of his first film, The Producers. He was married to the actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death in 2005.
Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction of having won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Three of his films ranked in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 comedy films of all-time: Blazing Saddles at number 6, The Producers at number 11, and Young Frankenstein at number 13.

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Michael Barrymore
Michael Kieron Parker (born 4 May 1952), known by the stage name Michael Barrymore, is a British comedian who appeared as a presenter of game shows and light entertainment programmes on British television in the 1980s and 1990s. These included Strike It Lucky, My Kind of People, My Kind of Music and Kids Say the Funniest Things. He headlined the 1993 Royal Variety Performance and was voted the UK's favourite TV star several times, becoming one of the highest-paid stars on TV.
Barrymore has appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and other shows including The Friday Night Project, The Bigger Picture with Graham Norton, This Morning, The Sharon Osbourne Show, Celebrity Coach Trip and The Saturday Night Show.
Barrymore, was born Michael Kieron Parker in Bermondsey in 1952. He lived on the Dickens estate, Bermondsey, for the first 18 years of his life. His parents, George and Margaret, had moved there in 1950 with Barrymore's brother John (born c. 1944) and sister Ann (born c. 1946). His father, a violent heavy drinker, left when Barrymore was 11; they never saw each other again.

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Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.
In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.

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Neil Fitzmaurice
Neil Fitzmaurice (born 20 August 1969) is an English actor, comedian and writer.
Fitzmaurice's writing projects include That Peter Kay Thing, for which he received a British Comedy Award, and the critically acclaimed Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, in which he also appeared as "Ray-Von". He has also written two feature films: Going Off Big Time, in 1999, which was nominated for four BIFA awards and is part of Film Four's Best of British, and more recently Charlie Noades R.I.P.
As an actor, Fitzmaurice has appeared in Going off Big Time (which he also wrote), played Jeff in the Channel 4 comedy series Peep Show, and starred in the prison drama series Buried. He appeared on the first episode of The Office as the applicant whom David Brent interviews for the warehouse position. He plays the same character in the sixth episode, only this time Brent is giving him a redundancy notice. Fitzmaurice has also performed alongside Paul O'Grady in the BBC comedy Eyes Down, had guest roles in the long-running police drama The Bill and on the Casualty spin-off Holby City. Fitzmaurice also had a recurring role as Janet's Dad in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. He also appeared in Phoenix Nights in 2002 to 2003 and made a short appearance in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere episode 3.

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Peter Kay
Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer from Lancashire. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing (2000), Phoenix Nights (2001), Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere (2004), Britain's Got the Pop Factor... (2008) and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours. Kay has sold over 10 million DVDs, a UK record for a comedian.

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Rikrok
Ricardo George Ducent (born 17 June 1972, London, England) better known by his stage name Rikrok is an English singer. Rikrok is most famous for the single "It Wasn't Me" from Shaggy's Hot Shot album.
Rikrok's parents migrated from Jamaica to England in the mid 1960s in search of greater economic opportunities. Regarding his Jamaican influences during childhood, Rikrok noted "[when I was growing up it was pretty much Jamaican people who came over... My father was a big reggae fan, especially of Gregory Isaacs, John Holt and Dennis Brown. He had a big record collection and on Sundays he would play music all day at home".^{[citation needed]}
Rikrok was eleven years old when he returned to Jamaica with his family. While attending Manchester High School in Mandeville, Jamaica, he discovered his singing talent and soon realized he had a flair for songwriting. "One day I was listening to Babyface’s Tender Lover album and I remember thinking, I could probably be a songwriter", Rikrok says. "So I wrote a song, put it down, came back to it and tried it again. Then I started writing more and more songs. I wasn’t really good at it first; some of them were really corny, really stupid. But it was just a hobby and I never thought anything would come from it because it seemed like a completely unreachable dream being in the music business".^{[citation needed]}

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Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman. He was known for his roles in various British comedy television series, such as The Frost Report, Porridge, The Two Ronnies and Open All Hours.
He began his acting career in repertory theatre and decided he was best suited to performing comic roles. Barker gained his first acting successes at the Oxford Playhouse and later in various roles in the West End including Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound. During this period, he became a cast member on BBC radio and television comedy programmes such as The Navy Lark. Barker got his television break with the satirical sketch series The Frost Report in 1966 where he met future collaborator Ronnie Corbett. He joined David Frost's production company and was to star in a number of ITV shows including a short film during this period.
After rejoining the BBC Barker found fame with the sketch show The Two Ronnies (1971—1987) with Ronnie Corbett. After the series of pilots called Seven of One, he gained starring roles in the sitcoms Porridge, its sequel Going Straight and Open All Hours. Apart from being a performer, he was noted as a comedy writer both under his own name and the pseudonym Gerald Wiley, which Barker adopted to avoid pre-judgements of his talent. Barker won the BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Performance four times, amongst other awards, and received an OBE in 1978.

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Ruth Langsford
Ruth Langsford (born 17 March 1960) is an English television presenter.
Langsford began her career as a continuity announcer and newscaster with ITV regional station TSW in the South West of England. She left TSW when Westcountry Television took over the franchise on 1 January 1993, even closing down the station with fellow announcer, the late Ian Stirling.
Since then she has presented such programmes as Loose Women, Langsford Late, Gardens of the Millennium and The Really Useful Show. Since 2000 she has been a guest presenter on ITV's This Morning, and was made a regular presenter in 2006 and now presents every Friday, with her husband Eamonn Holmes. Together they also host This Morning during school holidays, when Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby are on a break.
Langsford was one of the main presenters on the now defunct TV Travel Shop which was on air from April 1998 to March 2005.
In December 2007, Langsford was revealed as the new face of ScS Furniture, replacing Martin Kemp.
Ruth has also worked on:
'Gardens of the Millennium' = ITV Presenter
'The Travel Shop' = Presenter
'Cruise Deals' = Presenter
'Granada Breeze' = Presenter
'Food Network Daily' = Presenter

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Sally Lindsay
Sally Lindsay (born 8 July 1973, Stockport, England) is an English actress best known for playing the role of Shelley Unwin in the long-running ITV Soap opera Coronation Street. She is also known for currently playing the role of Lisa in the Sky1 comedy Mount Pleasant.
Lindsay's first television appearance was aged 7 when her school choir, the St Winifred's School Choir, released "There's No One Quite Like Grandma", which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1980.
Before becoming an actress, Lindsay studied English at the University of Hull and had aspirations of becoming a journalist. However, she was cast in a play and enjoyed the experience, and then studied at North Cheshire Theatre School before dabbling with stand up comedy. When she was 24, she met and became friends with comedian Peter Kay. Subsequently, Lindsay and Kay appeared together in Phoenix Nights and in the video for the Comic Relief single "Is This the Way to Amarillo". In 2000, she appeared in an episode of The Royle Family, playing Twiggy's girlfriend, Michelle.

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Shelley Unwin
Shelley Victoria Unwin (previously Barlow) is a fictional character who appeared in ITV's British soap opera Coronation Street. She is the daughter of Bev Unwin (Susie Blake) and the late Charlie Unwin. She was played by actress Sally Lindsay, who portrayed the role from 2001 until 2006.
In January 2001 it was announced that a new barmaid and friend of Duggie Ferguson (John Bowe) was to join and that she would be played by actress Sally Lindsay. She made her first appearance on the soap on 9 May 2001 as a new feisty barmaid. During Shelley's six years on the show she was friends with Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati) and was involved in high profile storylines such as discovering her husband Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) is a bigamist and later being beaten up by her then boyfriend Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward).
In October 2005, it was announced that Sally Lindsay had quit Coronation Street after six years playing Shelly. Speaking of her departure Lindsay said "I think that Shelley has been through so much as a character during my time here, and I am really looking forward to working on different projects. I have and always will have a massive affection for Coronation Street, and I want to thank all the cast, production team and writers for everything that has happened for me and my character." Producer Tony Wood praised her as a "talented actress" and paid tribute to her portrayal of Shelley's mental abuse at the hands of Charlie, played by Bill Ward. "Sally has been fantastic during her time on Coronation Street – she has done everything that has been asked of her and more," he said.

wn.com/Shelley_Unwin
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is a BAFTA-winning English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and producer. Born in Middleton, Lancashire, he began his career as a stand-up comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early 1990s, Coogan began creating original comic characters which he presented in stage shows, this led to him winning the 1992 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, for his show with long-time collaborator John Thomson. The most prominent characters he developed at this time were Paul Calf, a stereotypical lower class Mancunian and his sister the promiscuous Pauline (played by Coogan in drag).
Working with Chris Morris, Patrick Marber and Armando Iannucci for On the Hour and The Day Today, Coogan developed his most popular and most developed character; Alan Partridge, a socially awkward and politically incorrect regional media personality, who developed to feature in his own eponymous television series, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge and I'm Alan Partridge, which were well received and were nominated for five BAFTAs in total. Outside the UK, Coogan is better known for his roles in films including 24 Hour Party People, The Wind in the Willows, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Night at the Museum, Tropic Thunder, Hamlet 2, A Cock and Bull Story, The Trip and The Other Guys.

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Susan Boyle
Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables. Her first album was released in November 2009 and debuted as the number one best-selling album on charts around the globe.
Global interest in Boyle was triggered by the contrast between her powerful mezzo-soprano voice and her plain appearance on stage. The juxtaposition of the audience's first impression of her, with the standing ovation she received during and after her performance, led to an international media and Internet response. Within nine days of the audition, videos of Boyle—from the show, various interviews and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River"—had been watched over 100 million times. Her audition video has been viewed on the internet several hundred million times. Despite the sustained media interest she later finished in second place in the final of the show behind dance troupe Diversity.

wn.com/Susan_Boyle
Tony Christie
Tony Christie (born Anthony Fitzgerald, 25 April 1943) is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his track, "Is This The Way To Amarillo", a double UK chart success.
Tony Christie has sold over 10 million albums Worldwide. He had two Top Twenty hits in the UK Singles Chart in 1971 with "I Did What I Did For Maria", which reached #2 and "Is This the Way to Amarillo", which peaked at #18. He also had a minor hit with "Avenues And Alleyways" which reached #37, the theme to the television series The Protectors. "Is This the Way to Amarillo" sold over one million copies by September 1972, and was awarded a gold disc. His early songs were dramatic big-voiced numbers, many of which were written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander.
He recorded albums regularly throughout the 1970s and made infrequent appearances on the charts. His album With Loving Feeling sold well boosted by the hit single "Is This The Way to Amarillo". He recorded an album in the United States in 1973 with the record producer Snuff Garrett, which did little to stop his commercial slide. A live album followed which sold relatively better. But by the mid 1970s recorded work became rarer and stage work took preference.

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Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.
Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

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Will Young
William Robert "Will" Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise. His debut single, "Anything is Possible", was released two weeks after the show's finale and became the fastest-selling debut single in the United Kingdom.
As a teenager, Young studied politics at the University of Exeter before moving to London, where he pursued a musical theatre degree at the Arts Educational School. Although enrolled in a three-year programme, Young put his studies on hold in late 2001 to become a contestant on Pop Idol. After winning the competition the following year, he released his debut album From Now On (2002) which went to straight to number one. Friday's Child (2003) followed one year later and enjoyed greater popularity, eventually going platinum five times in the UK and spawning three top five singles. Achieving similar success, the album's successors include the multi-platinum Keep On (2005) and platinum Let It Go (2008) with his most recent release Echoes (2011) becoming his third UK number-one album.

wn.com/Will_Young

Parkinson: Peter Kay on Witnessing a Robbery

Comedian Peter Kay makes the audience giggle as he recounts his close encounter with a gro...

published: 08 Aug 2007

author: BBCWorldwide

Peter Kay on Jonathan Ross Show

Comedian appears on jonathan ross...

published: 25 Sep 2011

author: MR SCOTT LESLIE

Peter Kay - The Last Parkinson

Peter Kay on the last Parkinson. Aired December 2007....

published: 18 Dec 2007

author: HollowPin

Peter kay Funny Song Lyrics

peter kay live at O2 Enjoy he is brilliant. Peter Kay-The tour that didnt tour, Tour...

published: 17 Aug 2012

author: FLOWMAN64

peter kay impression of a family wedding

from the stand up show in bolton...

published: 04 Aug 2009

author: sillystupidvid1707

Peter Kay's brilliant one-liners

He's back! One of Britain's best loved comedians brings his record breaking Tour That Didn...

published: 29 Oct 2011

author: funniestevercomedy

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Max and Paddy AKA Peter Kay and Paddy Mcguinness - Part 1

This one of my favourite millionaire games. Legends Peter Kay And Paddy Mcguinness which I...

published: 29 Jan 2012

author: TheGameshowfanatic

max and paddy out takes

...

published: 23 May 2012

author: OoStevieboyoO

Peter Kay Stand Up

Peter's stand up routine at the Comedy Store, London in 1999. Produced in association with...

published: 12 May 2012

author: kingsLF

Peter Kay - Paying the Bill

Watch this clip from the Tour That Didn't Tour. Out now on DVD and Double Play. Order your...

published: 21 Nov 2011

author: funniestevercomedy

peter kay on parkinson

very funny...

published: 21 May 2007

author: jameskirkham1990

Peter Kay Thing - Ice Cream Man Cometh

peter kay thing ice cream man cometh part 1...

published: 08 Apr 2010

author: xboxlivegstar11

Peter Kay Interview This Morning November 2010

Peter chats to Eamon and Ruth on This Morning November 2010...

published: 07 Nov 2010

author: mattypark

Peter Kay @ diamond jubilee concert 2012 HQ.

Peter Kay Live @ diamond jubilee concert 2012 HQ...

published: 04 Jun 2012

author: HOLLYWOODVISIONHD1

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photo: AP / Sebastian D'souza

FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2008 file photo, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the accused gunman walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India.

India hangs gunman from 2008 Mumbai attack

Herald Tribune

21 Nov 2012

MUMBAI, India - India executed the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 terror attack on Mumbai early Wednesday, India's home ministry said. Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, was one of 10 gunmen who rampaged through the streets of India's financial capital in November 2008, killing 166 people. Kasab was hung at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at a jail in...(size: 4.5Kb)

photo: AP / Melanie Gouby

People walk past as M23 rebel soldier's take positions near the Heal Africa hospital in the center of Goma, Congo, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012.

DR Congo soldiers surrender to M23

Al Jazeera

21 Nov 2012

Hundreds of government soldiers and police in the Democratic Republic of Congo have surrendered to rebels at a stadium in Goma, Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri has reported from the scene. The M23 rebel group, believed to be backed by Rwanda seized the strategic, provincial capital of Goma in eastern Congo on Tuesday, home to more than 1 million...(size: 18.7Kb)

photo: AP

On March 10, 1973, more than one week after seizing Wounded Knee, S.D., and starting a standoff with federal authorities, members of the Oglala Sioux tribe march to the cemetery where their ancestors were buried following the 1890 massacre at the site.

Amerindians and Politics of Thanksgiving and Black Friday

WorldNews.com

23 Nov 2012

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. I was fortunate to have been raised near an American Indian archaeological spot located on the Great Plains. In elementary school, a fellow classmate would periodically bring and show grinding stones, arrow- and spearheads, stone farming implements, and pictures of what the excavated site may have...(size: 7.1Kb)

photo: AP / Emilio Morenatti

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry arrives at the Supreme Court compound in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.

Pakistan's powerful military under scrutiny

Al Jazeera

22 Nov 2012

A new battle is underway in Pakistan with its powerful military front-and-centre, but the fight is not against armed insurgents or ideological extremists - this opponent is a muscle-flexing Supreme Court. For the first time in decades, the military's iron grip over the South Asian country has been challenged, and it remains to be seen if it will...(size: 23.7Kb)

photo: UN / Logan Abassi

Hurricane Sandy passed to the west of Haiti on 25 October, 2012, causing heavy rains and strong winds, flooding homes and overflowing rivers. A woman walks through a flooded market in Port-au-Prince.

UN says carbon cuts too slow to curb dangerous warming

BBC News

21 Nov 2012

A report by the UN says global attempts to curb emissions of CO2 are falling well short of what is needed to stem dangerous climate change. The UN's Environment Programme says greenhouse gases are 14% above where they need to be in 2020 for temperature rises this century to remain below 2C. The authors say this target is still technically...(size: 3.5Kb)

timeline:
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Peter Kay 'for Secret Millionaire spoof'

Digital Spy

24 Nov 2012

Peter Kay has revealed that he is making a spoof of TV show The Secret Millionaire. The comedian described his project while speaking on Radio 2's Steve Wright...(size: 1.0Kb)

James to release 12 new tracks in new box set

Music News

24 Nov 2012

JAMES will be releasing their first ever box set on December 10th, 2012. Entitled The Gathering Sound, the box set covers the band's career to date and includes all eleven studio albums on a unique j-shaped USB stick. James aficionados should note that the box set heralds the release of 32 previously unreleased recordings including 12 completely...(size: 3.4Kb)

North-west England 'the funniest place in the UK'

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

The north-west of England has been dubbed the funniest place in the UK. A Laughter Index survey conducted to mark the release of Peter Kay: Live & Back on Nights! found that the majority of those...(size: 1.3Kb)

'Fringe' showrunner Joel Wyman: 'I regret parts of the show'

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

Fringe showrunner Joel Wyman has revealed that he regrets certain parts of the show. The writer/producer told SFX that an early storyline from the Fox drama's fourth season - which saw Peter (Joshua Jackson) erased from existence - "didn't work". "I get so much support from the media and from fans [and] I can't be upset if they don't like...(size: 8.6Kb)

'Strictly Come Dancing': Could anyone replace Bruce Forsyth?

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

The question of who could replace Sir Bruce Forsyth as the host of Strictly Come Dancing has been posed many times during the show's ten-year stretch, but it has reared its head again notably this year. Forsyth, now 84, is still firing out his so-bad-they're-good gags and packs more charisma than 37 Reggie Yates, but even the old-stager had to take...(size: 12.0Kb)

'Strictly Come Dancing' poll: Who could replace Bruce Forsyth?

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

'Doctor Who's Best and Worst Multi-Doctor Stories: Friday Fiver

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

It's Doctor Who's anniversary! Alright, so the BBC sci-fi drama's big half-century celebrations aren't till 2013, but today - November 23, 2012 - marks the show's 49th year as part of the televisual landscape! In the past, the show has marked a birthday - both its 10th and its 20th - with a story featuring multiple Doctors, and on occasion, the...(size: 10.2Kb)

Win: Sony Xperia Tablet or 'Amazing Spider-Man' Android game & Blu-ray

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

One of the most beloved and iconic superheroes of all time re-emerges in The Amazing Spider-Man - starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone - out on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD on November 26. The Amazing Spider-Man tells the story of teenage Peter Parker, who grapples with both high school and amazing super-human crises as his alter ego, Spider-Man,...(size: 9.2Kb)

Jesse Eisenberg in Richard Ayoade's 'The Double' - first pictures

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

The first pictures of Jesse Eisenberg in Richard Ayoade's The Double have surfaced online. The film is based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novella The Double: A Petersburg Poem, in which a government clerk becomes convinced that a doppelgänger has stolen his name, face and identity. [Jesse Eisenberg in The Double] The stills from the comedy debuted...(size: 8.2Kb)

'Dark Skies': An alien presence haunts a family in new trailer - watch

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

Dark Skies has debuted a new trailer. It centres around a family whose home becomes the centre of a chilling alien presence. Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton star as parents who takes matters into their own hands, as their friends and neighbours grow suspicious of their erratic behaviour and the strange occurrences at their suburban home. The film...(size: 8.1Kb)

Olly Murs: 'Flo Rida and I are like Michael Owen and Peter Crouch'

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

Olly Murs has compared his collaboration with Flo Rida to the partnership between Michael Owen and Peter Crouch. He said that his work with the rapper on latest single 'Troublemaker' was like the pairing between the Stoke City footballers. The singer told Capital FM that the team-up should not work "on paper" but that he is "chuffed" with the...(size: 8.2Kb)

Queens of the Stone Age to headline Poland's Open'er Festival

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

Queens of the Stone Age have been announced to headline Poland's Open'er Festival. The 'No One Knows' band have joined the lineup for the July 2013 event, which already features Blur. The festival will take place at Gdynia-Kosakowo Airfield in Gdynia from July 4 to July 7, with Queens of the Stone Age playing the main stage on the evening of July...(size: 8.3Kb)

Chinese references 'digitally removed from Red Dawn' remake

Digital Spy

23 Nov 2012

Negative references to China have been removed from new film Red Dawn to "avoid antagonising Beijing", it has been claimed. According to Sky News, film studio MGM decided to edit "Chinese villains" out of the film when they realised the plot "would offend Beijing". The invading country in the film has now been changed to North Korea. Red Dawn,...(size: 8.5Kb)

timeline:
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For the footballer, see Peter Kaye.

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (August 2011)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010)

Peter Kay
Birth name	Peter John Kay
Born	(1973-07-02) 2 July 1973 (age 38) Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, UK
Medium	Stand up, Television, Film
Nationality	British
Years active	1996 - Present
Genres	Observational comedy
Subject(s)	Everyday life
Influences	Ronnie Barker^[1]
Spouse	Susan Kay (m. 2001) ^[2]
Notable works and roles	Phoenix Nights (2001–02) Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere (2004) Comic Relief

Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer from Lancashire. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing (2000), Phoenix Nights (2001), Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere (2004), Britain's Got the Pop Factor... (2008) and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours. Kay has sold over 10 million DVDs, a UK record for a comedian.

1 Early career
2 Other projects
3 Awards
4 Criticism
5 Discography
- 5.1 Albums
- 5.2 Singles
6 Filmography
- 6.1 Television
- 6.2 Film
7 Stand-up DVDs
8 References
9 External links

Early career [link]

Peter Kay was born in Farnworth, near Bolton, Greater Manchester, to an English father, Michael John Kay (1939–1999), and an Irish mother, Margaret Deirdre O'Neill, who hails from County Tyrone.^[3] He attended Mount St Joseph High School, leaving with one GCSE in Art. He took several menial jobs, including working in a toilet roll factory, a Netto supermarket, a cash and carry, and a bingo hall, which later inspired episodes or sequences in That Peter Kay Thing. He began a degree course at Liverpool Hope University but was unable to cope with the written work and dropped out. He then attended the University of Salford where he studied for a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Media Performance, which he completed, this involved a stand-up course at which he excelled. His first stand-up was a competition in Manchester hosted by later co-star and co-writer of Phoenix Nights, Dave Spikey. Kay was last on the bill and won the competition, beating fellow stand-up comedian Johnny Vegas. His earliest 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 Tomkinson. 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. After losing his job at the cinema, Kay was presented with the choice between finding another menial job or moving into comedy.

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 received a prestigious Perrier Award nomination. 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 recognition. During this period, he appeared on several chat shows, such as Parkinson and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, where he had previously been a warm up man. Production also began on Phoenix Nights, which was to see him achieve critical acclaim as well as mainstream success. Subsequent advertisements, for John Smith's Bitter, which imitate the realistic style of Phoenix Nights, saw Kay develop his catchphrases "'ave it!" and "two lamb bhunas".

1997–2000: Early career and productions [link]

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 Brian Potter, who would go on to become the primary character in Phoenix Nights, and who Kay said was a combination of all his bosses' personalities along with the voice of a man he knows. The eccentric Leonard de Tomkinson is reputedly based on a real man named Leonard who used to visit Peter during his working time at the local Majestic Garage. Following the series' success, Kay and his co-writers, Neil Fitzmaurice and Dave Spikey, used the episode "In The Club" as the basis for 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,^[4] Lancashire, 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.

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 Paddy McGuinness and even featured at times characters from Phoenix Nights. Notably this did not include the characters portrayed by his former co-writers Neil Fitzmaurice or Dave Spikey, the latter's character instead being represented by a body double in brief scenes.

Made for Channel 4 to be shown on a Friday, 6 episodes were made and broadcast from November to December 2004. The DVD of the series was released in October 2005, but unlike previous DVDs does not feature commentary from either Kay or McGuinness, instead opting for "surprise" commentators. In December 2005, a spoof workout DVD was also released, starring McGuinness and Kay, entitled Max and Paddy's: The Power Of Two. All the music was once again written (or co-written with Peter Kay) by Toni Baker who did all the music for Phoenix Nights and Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere.

On 17 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 disliked Peter Kay and thought that Channel 4 was going downhill for dedicating an entire night to him. Paddy wondered why ITV have not snapped up Kay. Max is shown to be ignorant of current events, failing to realise that civil partnerships are now legal and that Elton John has made use of it, to 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 and again on 12 October 2008 which included Peter's new show Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice.

Since 2002, Kay has featured in television advertisements for John Smith's beer (despite being teetotal),^[2] through which the catchphrase—"'Ave it!"—gained popularity for an unceremonious hoof upfield in a football-themed advert.

He later claimed in his autobiography that he never meant to use "ave-it", he just said it after kicking the ball successfully.

He also voiced the "Tizer Head" in 2001 advertisements for Tizer, which were used to sponsor CD:UK.

Kay appeared in the Marks and Spencer Christmas advert for 2010 which began airing late October 2010.

2000–2011: Stage shows [link]

Kay has 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 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.

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.^[5]

Kay introduced British band James at V2007 and again the next year in Liverpool on their 2008 spring tour. He performed a short set and even wrote a request on the setlist, which the band performed as an encore. A recording of this is available on the limited edition Live in 2008 CD sold on the subsequent tour (listed as "a couple of extra bits").^[6]

In November 2009, Kay announced that he will play four (later extended to 20) dates in Manchester in April and May 2010 with a tour entitled "The Tour that Doesn't Tour Tour.” The reason given for restricting the tour to Manchester only was so that Peter could remain close to his family. On 27 November 2009 during an interview on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Kay announced that, due to the demand and extra dates, the tour will most likely tour, jokingly renaming it The Tour That Doesn't Tour Tour...Now On Tour. Venues for tour include London's O2 Arena, Birmingham's National Indoor Arena and LG Arena, Cardiff International Arena, Sheffield Arena, SECC, Belfast Odyssey, Dublin The O2, Liverpool Arena, Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, which will take place in November 2010 and April 2011 and then end again at Manchester and entitled 'The Tour That Doesn't Tour...Now On Tour...The Farewell Tour'. In October 2010 Kay announced 6 further dates for 2011, due to phenomenal demand.

From February 2007, Kay played 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 12 May 2007. He reprised his role later in the year at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow.

He also appeared in the Royal Variety Performance 2008, which was staged at the London Palladium on Thursday 11 December.^[7] He hosted 2009's Royal Variety Performance at the Blackpool Opera House.

1998–2005: Film career [link]

Kay's film appearances have included minor roles in, Going Off Big Time (1999) with Neil Fitzmaurice, 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).

Guest appearances [link]

In 2000, Kay guest appeared in one episode of the popular police drama Heartbeat playing a thief. He also sang at the end of the episode. In addition, he appeared in the first episode of the 2002 series of the BBC's comedy-drama Linda Green, playing a pizza delivery man who ended up being something of a soulmate to the eponymous heroine.

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.^[8] Although the episode itself was quite comedic, Kay's role was more serious than those he normally plays.

Kay has also appeared twice alongside British band Take That, in An Audience with Take That and as Geraldine McQueen in Take That Come To Town. He also co-wrote The Winner's Song and Once Upon A Christmas Song with Take That member, Gary Barlow.

Chat shows [link]

Kay has appeared on numerous chat shows, including Parkinson, The Paul O'Grady Show, The Jonathan Ross Show and The Late Late Show in Ireland. 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 5 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.

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.

On 15 March 2007, he was the first guest of the inaugural recording of Danny Baker's All Day Breakfast Show.^[9]

He appeared as a guest on the last ever Parkinson show on ITV on 16 December 2007, making a return to the programme on which he'd been a warm-up act years before. He hugged everyone on the show. He also brought with him a bag of 'goodies' including party hats and also a lollipop man's outfit as a joke for Parkinson's use during his retirement.

Another appearance on The Paul O'Grady Show, had him coming into the studio with the same exaggerated mask used on the cover of his autobiography Saturday Night Peter. The theme tune of Saturday Night Fever accompanied him, as well as the white suit also worn on the cover. He appeared on Paul O'Grady Live in 2010.

Kay has also appeared on This Morning and caused much hilarity with presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford when he appeared in 2009 and 2010, especially when Kay talked about a dog's lipstick and Embarrassing Bodies. In 2010, it ended with an encounter with Holmes and Kay when Holmes called Langsford a 'Chubby Chaser'.

When the The Jonathan Ross Show was on BBC1, Kay appeared where he announced he would remake the film series Die Hard in Manchester, renamed 'Die Well 'Ard'. When the show moved to ITV1, he appeared there and was similarly amusing when he wandered around the set, revealing that the backdrop was not actually a view of the cityscape of London and wore a mixture of moustaches in order to ruin the editing of the show.

Other projects [link]

Kay has released three autobiographies, two of them are called The Sound of Laughter and Saturday Night Peter, both books have parody titles of movies, The Sound of Music and Saturday Night Fever. He has just recently released a new book named The Book That's More Than Just a Book.

Awards [link]

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 Comedians' 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 100 Greatest Funny Moments voted him at the Number 1 spot, most notably for his stand-up act, Mum Wants a Bungalow tour at the Bolton Albert Halls, including his description of a family wedding and Bullseye.

Peter Kay was included in the Independent on Sunday's "Happy List" in 2009 as "simply Britain's best comedian",^[10] and – as an exception to their general rule – was included again in 2010 for also raising funds for Children in Need.^[11]

Criticism [link]

In 2004, Kay caused controversy with a joke about murdered television presenter Jill Dando. The Sun newspaper covered the story on its frontpage, labelling Kay as a "sick comic".^[12]

Despite having co-written Phoenix Nights with Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice, Fitzmaurice spoke of his dissatisfaction with Kay taking sole credit when he left their names off the script book. “I can only presume they took out all the bits Dave and I wrote.” Kay was also nominated for a book prize alone. Fitzmaurice added, "The only way I can explain it is that people are affected by fame in different ways. It was basically about a lack of respect, a lack of recognition for me and Dave."^[13] Spikey also criticised Max and Paddy saying: "Hate to say it but pretty obvious, blatant, unsophisticated comedy for me. But, hey what do I know? It did very well and got nominated for a National TV award so I must be in the minority.".^[14]

In 2001, there was criticism of Kay following his depiction in both That Peter Kay Thing and Phoenix Nights (series one) of a fire safety officer called Keith Lard. The character seemed to have resemblances to a real-life fire safety officer called Keith Laird. Although the similarity was dismissed as coincidental, Channel 4 were forced to offer an apology and financial compensation to Mr Laird.^[15]

Discography [link]

Albums [link]

2005: The Best Of Peter Kay … So Far

Singles [link]

Year	Song	UK	IRE	EU
2005	"Is This the Way to Amarillo" (Tony Christie feat. Peter Kay) ^[16]	1	1	4
2007	"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" (as Brian Potter, with The Proclaimers and Andy Pipkin) ^[17]	1	—	16
2008	"The Winner's Song" ¹	2	—	21
2008	"Once Upon A Christmas Song" ¹	5	35	15
2009	"The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" (Peter Kay's Animated All-Star Band)^[18]	1	6	7
2011	"I Know Him So Well" (with Susan Boyle) ¹	11	—	—

^1 As Geraldine McQueen.

Filmography [link]

Television [link]

New Voices [episode "Two Minutes"] (1996)
Coronation Street (Shopfitter) (1997)^[19]
Comedy Lab [episode "The Services"] (1998)
Butterfly Collectors (Ronnie) (1999)
That Peter Kay Thing (2000)
Phoenix Nights (2001–2002)
Linda Green (Eddie) (2002)
Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do (Brian Potter) (2003)
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere (2004)
Coronation Street (Eric Gartside) (2004)^[19]
The Catherine Tate Show (Tommy) (2005)^[19]
Doctor Who – Love & Monsters (2006)^[20]
Little Britain Abroad (2006)
Roary the Racing Car (Voice Over (Big Chris)) (2007–present)^[21]
Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice (2008)^[22]
Take That Come To Town as Geraldine McQueen (2008)
Brit Awards 2010 [Himself]

Film [link]

Going Off Big Time (Flipper) (2005)
Blow Dry (Cyril the Barman) (2001)
Roddy Smythe Investigates... (Tommy Doyle) (2002)
24 Hour Party People (Don Tonay) (2002)
Last Rumba in Rochdale (Dad: Voice) (2002)
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (Simon Pig) (2005)
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (PC Mackintosh) (2005)^[23]
Max and Paddy's Power of Two (Max) (2005)

Stand-up DVDs [link]

In December 2011 it was reported that Kay had sold over 10 million DVDs, a UK record for a comedian and more than the combined sales of best selling movies Avatar and Mamma Mia!.^[24]

Live At The Top Of The Tower (22 November 2002) – Live at Blackpool Tower
Live At The Bolton Albert Halls (10 November 2003) – Live at Bolton's Town Hall
Live At The Manchester Arena (2005) – Live at The Manchester Arena
Peter Kay's Special Kay (17 November 2008)
Live – The Tour That Didn't Tour – Tour (7 November 2011) – Live at London's O2 Arena

References [link]

^ Youngs, Ian (4 October 2005). "The secret of Barker's success". BBC News (London). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4308082.stm. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
^ ^a ^b McLean, Gareth (15 October 2004). "The Guardian profile: Peter Kay". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2004/oct/15/comedy.television. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
^ "Funnyman Peter Kay back to his roots as star of new Irish comedy – News, Film & TV". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 29 January 2010. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/funnyman-peter-kay-back-to-his-roots-as-star-of-new-irish-comedy-14657659.html. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
^ Bolton: there’s a new trail in town… Visit Manchester – The Official Tourism Site for Greater Manchester
^ "Mutual Relief: Lucas and Kay join for charity single". Chortle. 17 November 2006. http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2006/11/17/4713/mutual_relief. Retrieved 17 November 2006.
^ "James Live in 2008 – The Album". We Are James. 3 December 2008. http://www.wearejames.com/news/. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
^ Press release announcing acts for the 2008 Royal Variety Performance
^ News Archives^{[dead link]}
^ Peter Kay iTunes
^ "The IoS Happy List 2009 – the 100". The Independent. UK. 19 April 2009. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-iiosi-happy-list-2009--the-100-1671055.html. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
^ The IoS Happy List 2010 – the 100, 25 April 2010
^ McLean, Gareth (15 October 2004). "The Guardian profile: Peter Kay". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2004/oct/15/comedy.television. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
^ "Peter kay blasted by co-star". Daily Star (UK). 28 December 2008. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/63694/Peter-Kay-blasted-by-co-star/. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
^ "You ask the questions – Dave Spikey". Chortle. 1 November 2005. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060614191548/http://chortle.co.uk/questions/spikey.php. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
^ "Fire Officer Fumes Over Comedy". BBC News (London). 31 January 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1145897.stm. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
^ "Is This the Way to Amarillo", A Charts
^ "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", A Charts
^ Kay records Children in Need song BBC News, 9 November 2009
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Catherine Tate Show" Season 2 Episode 6 (2005) imdB.com
^ "Doctor Who" Love & Monsters (2006) imdB.com
^ "Roary the Racing Car" (2007) imdB.com
^ Britain's Got the Pop Factor ...and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice (2008) imdB.com
^ Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit imdB.com
^ "Newsbeat – Peter Kay is the first comedian to sell 10 million DVDs". BBC. 13 December 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/16158702. Retrieved 25 January 2012.

External links [link]

Official website
Peter Kay at the Internet Movie Database

v t e UK best-selling singles (by year) (1990–2009)

1990: "Unchained Melody" - The Righteous Brothers · 1991: "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" - Bryan Adams · 1992: "I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston · 1993: "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" - Meat Loaf · 1994: "Love Is All Around" - Wet Wet Wet · 1995: "Unchained Melody" - Robson & Jerome · 1996: "Killing Me Softly" - Fugees · 1997: "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind 1997" - Elton John · 1998: "Believe" - Cher · 1999: "...Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears · 2000: "Can We Fix It?" - Bob the Builder · 2001: "It Wasn't Me" - Shaggy feat. Rikrok · 2002: "Anything Is Possible"/"Evergreen" - Will Young · 2003: "Where Is the Love?" - The Black Eyed Peas · 2004: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" - Band Aid 20 · 2005: "Is This the Way to Amarillo" - Tony Christie feat. Peter Kay · 2006: "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley · 2007: "Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis · 2008: "Hallelujah" - Alexandra Burke · 2009: "Poker Face" - Lady Gaga

Complete list (1952–1969) (1970–1989) (1990–2009) (2010–2029)

Persondata
Name	Kay, Peter
Alternative names
Short description	English writer, producer, actor and comedian
Date of birth	2 July 1973
Place of birth	Bolton, England
Date of death
Place of death

http://wn.com/Peter_Kay

http://de.wn.com/Peter Kay

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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kay

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

This article is about the British television and radio presenter. For other people called Jonathan Ross, see Jonathan Ross (disambiguation).

Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross at Live 8 on 2 July 2005
Born	Jonathan Stephen Ross (1960-11-17) 17 November 1960 (age 51) Camden, London, England^[1]
Nationality	British
Occupation	Broadcaster, film critic, Talk show host, Comedian
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Jane Goldman (m. 1988)
Children	2 daughters, 1 son
Parents	Martha Ross

Jonathan Stephen Ross, OBE (born 17 November 1960) is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2001 until he left the BBC in 2010. Ross began hosting a new chat show on ITV1 starting 3 September 2011. Ross also hosted his own radio show on BBC Radio 2, and acted as a film critic and presenter of the Film programme. Other regular roles have included being a regular panellist on the comedy sports quiz They Think It's All Over from 1999 to 2006, and presenting the annual British Comedy Awards from 1991 to 2007, and 2009 onwards.

Ross began his television career as a programme researcher, before débuting as a television presenter for The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross on Channel 4 in 1987. Over the next decade he had several radio and television roles, many through his own production company, Channel X. In 1995 he sold his stake in Channel X, and embarked on a career with the BBC. In 1999, Ross took over presenting the Film programme from Barry Norman, and also began presenting his own radio show, while two years later he began hosting Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. For the chat show, Ross won three British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards for Best Entertainment Performance, in 2004, 2006 and 2007. By 2006 Ross was believed to be the BBC's highest paid star. In 2005, Ross was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to broadcasting.^[2] Ross has been involved in controversies throughout his broadcasting career.^[3]^[4] As a result, in 2008 he wrote a semi-autobiographical work titled Why Do I Say These Things?, detailing some of his life experiences.

Ross has been married to the author, journalist and broadcaster Jane Goldman since 1988; they have three children. Ross and Goldman have together established the television production company Hotsauce TV. Ross is known as an avid fan and collector of comic books and memorabilia, and has written his own comic book, Turf. Ross is known for his distinctive voice, flamboyant style of dress,^[2] and his light-hearted banter. He is also known for his characteristic difficulty in pronouncing the sound 'r'.

Personal [link]

Ross was born in Camden, London, England on 17 November 1960, a son of British actress and radio presenter Martha Ross.^[5] He grew up in Leytonstone^[1] and is the brother of journalist, television editor, and media personality Paul Ross; TV producer/actor Miles Ross; TV producer Simon Ross, and music industry professional Adam Ross. He was educated at Norlington School for Boys, a comprehensive school at the same time as his elder brother Paul, and at Leyton County High School for Boys, a comprehensive school. He also attended Southampton College of Art, now known as Southampton Solent University. ^[6] He then studied Modern European History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University of London.^[7]

Ross with his wife Jane Goldman at the British Academy Television Awards 2009

Ross married author/journalist/broadcaster Jane Goldman, ten years his junior, in 1988, when Goldman was 18. They have since had three children: Betty Kitten (named after Bettie Page), Harvey Kirby (named after Jack Kirby, a comic book creator whom Ross especially admires), and Honey Kinney. The family lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb.^{[citation needed]}

Ross and others have used his rhotacism for comic effect and he is sometimes known as "Wossy,"^[8] including on his Twitter feed (@wossy).

Ross is known for owning exotic pets. He is a big music fan and the first band he saw live was punk rockers X-Ray Spex at Islington's Hope and Anchor pub in North London.^[9] He is a big fan of David Bowie, Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry, Queen (he was in the audience for Queen at Wembley), British punk rock, Spandau Ballet, Sparks, Star Trek, Doctor Who (his favourite Doctor was Jon Pertwee), and comic books. Ross has even co-owned a comic shop in London with Paul Gambaccini and released Turf, his first comic book, in 2010, with American artist Tommy Lee Edwards.^[10] He was also the visual inspiration for the main character in the comic book Saviour. Ross is also greatly interested in Japan, presenting a BBC-TV series on many different aspects of Japanese culture, Japanorama, for three series between 2002–07. He was a regular at London's Blitz club during the early 1980s (famous for the Blitz Kids). He is a fan of the singers Morrissey and George Michael.^{[citation needed]}

He is a friend of comedian Ricky Gervais and bought him a kitten after Gervais' previous cat, Colin, had died. The cat's name is Ollie and was presented to him on an episode of Ross' talk show Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.^[11] He was one of the special celebrity guests in the final episode of Gervais's second season of Extras, in which Gervais's character, Andy Millman, and Ross were shown to be the best of friends after a fictional appearance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.^[12]

He is also a close friend of author Neil Gaiman, and he and his wife appear in Gaiman's short story "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch", collected in Fragile Things.

In 2005, Ross was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.^[13] He celebrated the news by playing "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols on his Radio 2 show.^[14]

When interviewing Colin Farrell on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 19 February 2010, Ross claimed not to have consumed alcohol for ten years.

Ross has attended a fund raiser for the James Randi Educational Foundation called The Amazing Meeting in London in 2009 and 2010. Interviewed by Rebecca Watson, Ross described himself as a big fan of James Randi and the other speakers – who were mainly prominent sceptics – and said that he and his wife had come to have a sceptical view of the world.^[15] Ross has been supportive of Simon Singh's efforts to defend an accusation of libel by the British Chiropractic Association and Ross has posed for the Geek Calendar 2011, a fund raiser for the libel reform in the UK.^[16]

At a book signing event in Central London in September 2010, Ross stated that as a youngster he went to school in Leyton (Leyton Senior High School) and supports Leyton Orient F.C.^{[citation needed]}

On 6 June 2011, it was announced that Ross' beloved pug Mr Pickle had been killed in an accident on board a train while Ross was filming a new travelogue show for ITV.^[17] Mr Pickle was well known to both viewers and listeners of Ross' TV and radio shows.

Career [link]

Child actor [link]

Following the acting lead of his mother, who appeared as an extra on television shows such as East Enders, Ross appeared in television ads as a child actor. His first, for the breakfast cereal Kellogg's Rice Krispies, gave him his television debut in 1970, when he was 10 years old.^[18]^[19] He also appeared in an ad for the laundry detergent Persil.^[20]

Early career [link]

Ross began his adult career as a researcher on the Channel 4 show Loose Talk. After leaving this, he worked on various other shows before beginning another research job on Soul Train, which became Solid Soul. It is believed his first appearance on television was as an extra in the 1981 It Ain't Half Hot, Mum episode, The Last Roll Call.^[21]

Channel X: 1987–95 [link]

Whilst on Solid Soul, he met fellow researcher Alan Marke, and the two devised what would prove to be a breakthrough hit for Ross in 1987, The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross.

The pair based their concept on the successful American show Late Night with David Letterman, and formed a new production company called Channel X, to produce a pilot. Ross was not originally slated as the show's host, but with little time to find one Jonathan Ross stepped in and made his debut on the show in January 1987.^[22]

While the series was initially a co-production with Colin Calendar, ownership transferred to Marke and Ross, meaning that the latter retained a great deal of control as well as being presenter.^[23] The show proved popular for both Ross and for Channel 4, making him one of the major personalities on the channel.

A year later, his documentary series The Incredibly Strange Film Show introduced many to the works of cult filmmakers like Sam Raimi and Jackie Chan.

In 1989, he co-presented the biennial BBC charity telethon Comic Relief, the same year he launched One Hour with Jonathan Ross a short lived chat show on Channel 4, most notable for the game show segment "Knock down ginger" which introduced comedians such as Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson to television.

In 1991, he presented the annual British Comedy Awards on ITV. He has presented the event each year since, but in 2008 announced he would be stepping down from the role following his suspension from the BBC.^[24] In 1992 he presented an interview with Madonna about her Erotica album and Sex Book promotion.

In 1993, he was the narrator for FIA Formula One 1993 Season Review video.

Ross has appeared in numerous television entertainment programmes on several channels throughout the 1990s and 2000s. He was a regular panellist on the sports quiz They Think It's All Over, and hosted the panel game It's Only TV...But I Like It. Other projects include the BBC joke-quiz Gagtag, the Channel 4 variety show Saturday Zoo, new-acts showcase The Big Big Talent Show, and the ITV programme Fantastic Facts.

In 1995 he left Channel X, despite its profitable nature. He was quoted in a 1998 article as stating:

It was to do with a deliberate change in my life, moving away from TV as the core of my existence to focus on my family more. So I had to give up everything to do with Channel X, and I literally got only £1 for my share, which was unbelievable.^[25]

Television 1995–2006 [link]

In 1995 he presented Mondo Rosso, a programme about old cult films. He took over presenting of the Film programme, the BBC's long-running cinema review series, in 1999 after Barry Norman left the show. Ross himself has made a number of cameo appearances in films, playing himself in the Spice Girls' film Spice World (1997) and voicing the character of Doris in the UK version of Shrek 2 (2004). He also played himself in Only Fools and Horses, presenting Goldrush, a fictional television quiz on which the main character, Del, was a contestant. In 2001 he voiced characters in two episodes of the animated comedy series Rex the Runt. In the 30 October episode of Film 2006, Ross also claimed that he had appeared as an extra in the 1981 film 'The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin', as an Israeli soldier raiding Entebbe Airport.^{[citation needed]} He also appeared on the first pilot show for Shooting Stars, acting as a team captain.

BBC Radio: 1999–2010 [link]

Ross began presenting a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2 in 1999. He has also presented radio shows for BBC Radio 1 and Virgin Radio (having previously worked on Richard Branson's earlier venture, Radio Radio), as well as the now-defunct commercial radio network service The Superstation, where his producer was Chris Evans.

From 23 May 2009, Ross' BBC Radio 2 show was pre-recorded 24 hours before broadcast.^[26] This decision was made to make the show more watertight and, according to the press, to make sure any of Ross's off-the-cuff comments might be edited out.^[27]

Ross' show on Radio 2 last aired on 17 July 2010 when his contract at the BBC ended.

[edit] Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: 2001–10

Ross with friend Ricky Gervais at Live 8 in July 2005

On 2 November 2001, Ross began presenting his chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.

In 2005, Ross anchored the BBC television coverage of the Live 8 concerts. Later that year he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting. He celebrated the news by playing "God Save the Queen" by The Sex Pistols (which was banned by the BBC when released in 1977) on his BBC Radio 2 Saturday morning show. On 21 June 2006 Ross was made a Fellow of University College London, where he studied.

In early 2006, Ross announced that after eight years he was quitting his regular panellist seat on the sport/comedy quiz show They Think It's All Over, stating:

I’ve had a great time on They Think It's All Over, imparting my vast sporting knowledge to the nation, but I need time now to focus on my other commitments and so regrettably I won't be back for the 20th series. It's a fantastic show and from now on I'll be able to actually watch it.

However, after Ross's departure, only two more episodes of the show were made before it was cancelled.

In January 2006 he presented Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion, broadcast on BBC Four. The three-part documentary followed Ross as he explored the film industry in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea, interviewing directors and showcasing clips. His interest in Asian culture and his self confessed love for anime and video games led him to making three series of BBC Three show Japanorama, as well as producing another series for the same channel called Adam and Joe Go Tokyo, starring Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish. He produced the latter programme through his own production company Hot Sauce.

In June 2006, a bidding war was sparked between BBC and other broadcasters for Ross' services. Although other broadcasters were unsuccessful in poaching Ross, it is believed that their bids were higher than the BBC during negotiations. ITV, who bid for Ross, poached chat host Michael Parkinson around the same time. Ross became the highest paid television personality in Britain, when a new BBC contract secured his services until 2010, for a reported £18 million (£6 million per year).^[28]

On 25 June 2006, he performed at the Children's Party at the Palace for the Queen's 80th birthday. In August 2006, Ross was enlisted to ask the first question^[29] since the transition from beta for the Yahoo Answers in UK and Ireland. On 16 March 2007, Ross hosted Comic Relief 2007 alongside Fearne Cotton and Lenny Henry. On 7 July 2007 Ross presented at the Live Earth concert.

Starting on 10 September 2007 he presented the BBC Four series Comics Britannia, about the history of the British comic. This forms the core of a Comics Britannia season, which includes another documentary, In Search of Steve Ditko, by Ross.^[30]

In May 2008, Ross won the Sony Gold Award "Music Radio Personality of the Year".^[31]

On 3 August 2008, on BBC1, he hosted Jonathan Ross Salutes Dad's Army.

In 2010, Ross took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.

On 7 April 2010, Ross's first comic book was published. Turf was written by Jonathan himself and drawn by artist Tommy Lee Edwards.^[32] In 2011, Ross wrote an introduction for The Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 1,^[33] a collection of work by the American comics artist featured in Ross' 2007 documentary.

In one of his last appearances on the show, Ross was bundled on repeatedly by Gary Lineker, Ross Noble, Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett & Tinie Tempah, after a performance of Gorillaz' iconic song "Clint Eastwood" & "On Melancholy Hill".^{[citation needed]}

Leaving the BBC (2010)[link]

On 7 January 2010, Ross confirmed that he would leave the BBC in July 2010, having decided not to renegotiate his contract. This would see him leave all his regular BBC roles, namely his Friday night chat show, Radio 2 show and a film review programme, although he would be continuing with some specials, such as Comic Relief and the BAFTA Awards.^[34]^[35]^[36]^[37]

Explaining the decision, Ross said:

Although I have had a wonderful time working for the BBC, and am very proud of the shows I have made while there, over the last two weeks I have decided not to re-negotiate when my current contract comes to an end. While there, I have worked with some of the nicest and most talented people in the industry and had the opportunity to interview some of the biggest stars in the world, and am grateful to the BBC for such a marvellous experience. I would like to make it perfectly clear that no negotiations ever took place and that my decision is not financially motivated^[34]

The decision came a day after it was announced that Graham Norton had signed a two-year deal with the BBC, and the BBC's media correspondent Torin Douglas speculated Norton would be a ready-made replacement for Ross's chat show role, while Mark Kermode of BBC Radio 5 Live was a potential successor in the film review role, but that "replacing Ross on radio will be harder". ^[34] Ross last appeared on the film programme in Episode 10 of Film 2010 with Jonathan Ross aired on 17 March 2010. After Kermode publicly ruled himself out on 26 March, Claudia Winkleman was announced 30 March 2010 as his replacement as host of the Film programme, who was to host Film 2010 from September 2010.^[38]^[39]

Ross's final Friday Night chat show episode aired on 16 July 2010, with David Beckham, Jackie Chan, Mickey Rourke, and Roxy Music as guests. Ross ended the show with an affectionate tribute to his guests and to the audience, while mentioning that he had promised his friend Morrissey that he would remain composed and "wouldn't cry". His final Radio 2 show was broadcast the following day. Patrick Kielty initially took over Ross' Radio 2 slot from 24 July 2010 after which Graham Norton took over permanently.

2010 onwards (ITV and Cinemoi)[link]

On 14 December 2010, Jonathan Ross announced his creative partnership with CineMoi, the UK's first and only independent French film channel. His deal with the company gives him a multi-faceted role as presenter, producer, creative director and shareholder in the company. A life long cinephile Ross has a unique perspective on French film and hopes to encourage 'first-timers' to explore a world of film that differs slightly from that of the regular Hollywood fare.

On 19 December 2010, Ross presented a three hour Channel 4 list show, 100 Greatest Toys, with the broadcaster describing Ross as a "huge toy enthusiast with a private collection that would rival any museum's."^[40]^[41]

In 2011, he presented Penn & Teller: Fool Us on ITV, a collaboration with magicians Penn & Teller.

Ross's new chat show The Jonathan Ross Show began on 3 September 2011 on ITV1,^[42] drawing an audience of 4.3m viewers, compared to the 4.6m for his finale on the BBC show.^[43] The first series will run for thirteen weeks. Speaking about the new show, Ross said: "I am thrilled and excited that after a short break I will be rolling up my sleeves and creating a brand new show for ITV1."^[44] Ross will also host a panel show from 2012 called Trending Topics also for ITV. The show will involve the social-network site Twitter. In Spring 2012, Ross appeared in the ITV panel show Mad Mad World.

Ross is currently planning to film a television piece with Lucha Britania. ^[45]

Controversies [link]

BBC contract [link]

In April 2006, Ross, along with other BBC personalities, had details of his fees leaked to the tabloid press.^[46] It was claimed at the time, by a then-unidentified BBC mole, that Ross earned £530,000 (equivalent to £10,000 per show) per year for hosting his Radio 2 show.^[47] While refusing to comment specifically on the leak in line with BBC policy on the matter, Ross did hint during his radio show that the figure was exaggerated; in addition to this, any pay highlighted as being "his" would actually be split between himself and his producer/co-presenter on the show, Andy Davies.

David Cameron interview [link]

In June 2006, when Conservative Party leader David Cameron appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Ross began a line of questioning relating to Conservative ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, culminating in the question "Did you or did you not have a wank thinking of Margaret Thatcher?". Ross was defended by the BBC publicly, but repeat showings of the interview have been banned.^[48]

Heather Mills comment [link]

In 2006, Ross was criticised when he made a joke against Heather Mills, soon after she and Paul McCartney announced they were to divorce. He branded Mills, who has only one leg, a "fucking liar" and that he "wouldn't be surprised if we found out she's actually got two legs".^[49]

"1,000 journalists" comment [link]

On 5 December 2007, Ross joked at the British Comedy Awards that his salary meant that he was "apparently worth 1,000 BBC journalists". His quip came shortly after the BBC had announced plans for more than 2,000 jobs cuts, and was condemned as "obscene" by the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists.^[50] Ross has denied this saying that he was commenting on a piece that was written in a newspaper about his salary being that of 1,000 journalists:

"You know where that came from? The newspapers. After the fee was announced, they said, 'The BBC says he's worth 1,000 journalists', so on the Comedy Awards I made a joke that began, 'Apparently I'm worth 1,000 journalists according to the newspapers.' Every time it's quoted, is the word 'apparently' ever used? Which does change the meaning somewhat."^[51]

The Russell Brand Show and Andrew Sachs [link]

Main article: The Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row

Following a guest appearance by Ross on The Russell Brand Show broadcast on 18 October 2008, Ross was suspended for 12 weeks without pay by the BBC on 29 October, after a series of answer phone messages were left for 78-year-old actor Andrew Sachs regarding Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie, by Russell Brand and Ross, which were broadcast on the pre-recorded show.^[52] After little initial interest, a media story about the calls generated a high number of complaints. Brand resigned from the BBC, while Ross was suspended without pay. BBC director general Mark Thompson stated that Ross should take the disciplinary action as a "final warning".^[53]^[54] The BBC was later fined £150,000 by Britain's broadcast regulator for airing the calls.^[55]

On 21 November 2008, the BBC Trust said that the phone calls were a "deplorable intrusion with no editorial justification".^[56] The trust gave its backing to Ross's 12 week suspension but recommended that no further action be taken against him. He returned to work in January, and the first episode of a new series of Friday Night With Jonathan Ross with guests Tom Cruise, Stephen Fry and Lee Evans, and music from Franz Ferdinand, was broadcast on 23 January 2009.

Gwyneth Paltrow interview [link]

The BBC Trust ruled that Ross’s interview with Gwyneth Paltrow, broadcast on 2 May 2008, breached editorial guidelines. They ruled that bad language in an episode of Ross's pre-recorded BBC1 chat show, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, in which the presenter told Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow he "would fuck her" was "gratuitous and unnecessarily offensive". The trust said it disagreed with the judgement made by BBC management that the episode should be broadcast uncensored, adding that the comment was made in an "overly sexual way" and that it had upheld a number of complaints made about the edition of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.^[57] The trust reminded BBC staff that "the casual gratuitous use of the most offensive language is not acceptable on the BBC in accordance with the BBC's existing guidelines and practices", adding that "this particularly applies in entertainment programmes".^[58]

[edit] Hannah Montana comment

On 13 May 2009, Ross was accused of homophobia after a comment he made on his radio show,^[59] in which he said,

If your son asks for a Hannah Montana MP3 player, then you might want to already think about putting him down for adoption in later life, when they settle down with their partner.^[60]

An incorrect version of this quote was also circulated, in which Ross was accused of saying:

If your son asks for a Hannah Montana MP3 player, you might want to already think about putting him down for adoption before he brings his … erm … partner home.^[61]

Ofcom received 61 complaints following the comment. A representative from the BBC defended Ross, saying the comment was made "purely in jest" and that "Jonathan is not homophobic in any sense and never meant for his comments to be taken seriously."^[62] On 7 July 2009, Ofcom ruled that Ross did not breach the broadcasting code. They wrote in their opinion that "the comment was clearly presented as a joke intended to make light of the reactions that some parents may have if their child chooses a toy that is very widely recognised to be designed and marketed for the opposite sex" and that the nature of the joke and tone and manner in which it was presented "made clear that it was not intended to be hostile or pejorative towards the gay community in general."^[60] Stonewall criticised the ruling; saying "the fact that a comment is light-hearted does not absolve it from perpetuating the stereotypes that lead to homophobic bullying."^[63]

Video games [link]

Year	Video game	Role	Notes
2007	Halo 3	UNSC Marine
2010	Fable III	Barry Hatch

Honours and awards [link]

2006, made a Fellow of University College, London (UCL), into which his alma mater, SSEES, had been absorbed.^[64]

2012, Special Recognition award at the National Television Awards.

References [link]

^ ^a ^b "Jonathan Ross". http://www.speakers.co.uk/csaWeb/speaker,JONROS. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
^ ^a ^b "OBE for broadcaster Jonathan Ross". BBC. 10 June 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4077812.stm.
^ "'Risque' Ross avoids Cameron rap". BBC. 30 October 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6099176.stm. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
^ Burton, Nigel (29 October 2008). "Jonathan Ross:No Stranger to Controversy". The Northern Echo. http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/3801519.Jonathan_Ross___no_stranger_to_controversy/. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
^ Millar, Iain (3 August 2003). "Jonathan Ross: The likely lad". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jonathan-ross-the-likely-lad-588797.html. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
^ "Why do I say these things? – Jonathan Ross". Times Educational Supplement. 3 October 2008. http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6003316. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
^ "UCL Fellowships conferred". 22 June 2006. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0606/06062201. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
^ "Unwepentant Wossy". 29 June 2006. http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/news/news/2006/06/29/33339.shtml. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
^ Lachno, James (26 April 2011). "X-Ray Spex singer Poly Styrene dies aged 53". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8474012/X-Ray-Spex-singer-Poly-Styrene-dies-aged-53.html.
^ Aitkenhead, Decca (9 April 2010). "Jonathan Ross: Can I be honest with you?". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/apr/09/jonathan-ross-interview. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
^ Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, 26 November 2004
^ Extras – Series 2 (DVD). Universal Pictures Video. 2006.
^ "OBE for broadcaster Jonathan Ross". BBC News. 10 June 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4077812.stm. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
^ "Ross Hails OBE by playing Sex Pistols". BBC News. 11 June 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolavconsole/ifs_news/hi/newsid_4080000/newsid_4083500/nb_rm_4083518.stm. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
^ "TAM London 2010 - The interviews". 31 October 2010. http://www.skeptic.org.uk/podcasts/little-atoms/624-tam-london-2010-the-interviews?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+littleatomspodcast+%28Little+Atoms%29&utm_content=FeedBurner+user+view. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
^ "The Geek Calendar 2011". London: telegraph.co.uk. 31 October 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/picture-galleries/8076285/The-Geek-Calendar-2011.html?image=1. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
^ Kanter, Jake (6 June 2011). "Jonathan Ross travelogue scrapped | News | Broadcast". Broadcastnow.co.uk. http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/broadcasters/jonathan-ross-travelogue-scrapped/5028465.article. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
^ "Rice Krispies celebrate 80th birthday". 13 November 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3452116/Rice-Krispies-celebrate-80th-birthday.html. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
^ "Happy 150th Birthday Mr Kellogg". 7 April 2010. http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/whatson/pressoffice/News/kelloggs-corporate-news/happy-150th-birthday-mr-kellogg. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
^ Peter Wynter Bee (2008). "Jonathan Ross OBE, 'The Prolific TV Presenter'". http://books.google.com/books?id=AICHdUj3AvcC&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=%22jonathan+ross%22+%2Bpersil+%2B%22rice+krispies%22+%2Bmartha&source=bl&ots=hPbczaJcDN&sig=3aLArb2ER2IlE22VrvDGext4knU&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22jonathan%20ross%22%20%2Bpersil%20%2B%22rice%20krispies%22%20%2Bmartha&f=false. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
^ "Jonathan Ross's most memorable moments". BBC. Thursday, 7 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8446077.stm. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
^ "About Jonathan Ross". Radio 2. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/presenters/jonathan-ross/. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
^ 'Baggy fashion is blamed for trouble at t'mill', Roland Rudd, The Times, 2 June 1988.
^ Henry, Robin (1 November 2008). "Jonathan Ross may never return to BBC says Sir Terry Wogan". Times Online (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5061123.ece. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
^ 'Hot enough for another bite at the telly', The Guardian, 13 July1998.
^ Ross's radio show no longer live – BBC News
^ Jonathan Ross Live Show Axed – The Sun
^ 'Ross to stay at the BBC' Ben Dowell, The Guardian, 9 June 2006
^ Yahoo Answers
^ BBC profile for Comics Britannia
^ "Gold Award Winner!". http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/ross/. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
^ "Turf – Jonathan Ross And Tommy Lee Edwards’ New Comic Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors". Bleedingcool.com. 20 August 2009. http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/08/20/turf-jonathan-ross-and-tommy-lee-edwards-new-comic/. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
^ Ditko, Steve (2011). The Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 1. New York City: DC Comics. ISBN 1-4012-3111-X.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Jonathan Ross to quit as TV and radio host with the BBC". BBC. 7 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8445628.stm. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
^ "Jonathan Ross confirms he is to quit BBC". inthenews.co.uk. 7 January 2010. http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/entertainment/tv/jonathan-ross-confirms-he-is-to-quit-bbc-$1351757.htm. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
^ "Jonathan Ross is leaving the BBC". BBC. 7 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8445581.stm. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
^ MacInnes, Paul (29 March 2010). "Claudia Winkleman named as Jonathan Ross's successor on Film 2010 | Film | guardian.co.uk". guardian.co.uk (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/mar/29/claudia-winkleman-film-2010. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
^ "Kermode not taking over Film 2010". Metro. 26 March 2010. http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/819307-kermode-not-taking-over-film-2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
^ "Claudia Winkleman to take over from Jonathan Ross as Film 2010 presenter". Metro. 30 March 2010. http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/819539-claudia-winkleman-to-take-over-from-jonathan-ross-as-film-2010-presenter. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
^ "100 Greatest Toys with Jonathan Ross - Series and Episodes". Channel 4. undated. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5v6CUqWT8. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
^ "100 Greatest Toys with Jonathan Ross - The Panel". Channel 4. 9 December 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5v6BhaLCc. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
^ "Jonathan Ross: gagged but talking back". guardian.co.uk (London). 17 August 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mediamonkeyblog/2011/aug/17/jonathan-ross-itv-talkshow. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
^ "Jonathan Ross pulls in 4.3m viewers to debut ITV1 show". bbc.co.uk. 4 September 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14779862. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
^ "Ross signs new ITV chat show deal". BBC News. 7 July 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10540917.stm.
^ . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X67E-D6n3g4&list=UUP20GYS4B-koBTsWnWBYkdA&index=1&feature=plcp.
^ Julia Day "Radio 2 stars' salaries leaked", The Guardian, 18 April 2006
^ Owen Gibson "BBC unmasks mole who leaked salary details of its biggest stars", The Guardian, 17 May 2006
^ 'BBC to ban repeats of Ross versus Cameron' The Times, 1 July 2006
^ "Jonathan Ross blasts Heather Mills McCartney". SoFeminine. 31 October 2006. http://www.sofeminine.co.uk/w/star/n174407/news/Jonathan-Ross-blasts-Heather-Mills-McCartney.html.
^ Colin Crummy "Jonathan Ross: I'm worth 1,000 BBC journalists", Press Gazette, 6 December 2007
^ Hattenstone, Simon (2 September 2011). "Jonathan Ross: look who's talking – interview". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/sep/02/jonathan-ross-interview-simon-hattenstone.
^ "Brand and Ross suspended by BBC". BBC website. 29 October 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7696714.stm. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
^ "The ups and downs of Ross' career". BBC News. 30 October 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7700656.stm. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
^ "Ross suspended for three months". BBC News. 30 October 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7700816.stm. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
^ Khan, Urmee (3 April 2009). "BBC fined £150,000 over Brand's prank calls". London: The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5099055/BBC-fined-150000-over-Brands-prank-calls.html. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
^ "'No justification' for Brand show". bbc.co.uk. 21 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7741322.stm. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
^ BBC Trust criticises Jonathan Ross over lewd comment to Gwyneth Paltrow
^ At a glance: BBC Trust report BBC News, 21 November 2008
^ Geen, Jessica. "Exclusive: Jonathan Ross accused of homophobia", Pink News, 13 May 2009, Retrieved on 14 May 2009
^ ^a ^b "Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin Issue 137", Ofcom, 6 July 2009, Retrieved on 6 July 2009
^ Jonathan Ross's gay 'joke' was wrong
^ Singh, Amar. "Jonathan Ross accused of homophobia over Hannah Montana comment", London Evening Standard, 14 May 2009, Retrieved on 14 May 2009
^ Geen, Jessica. "Stonewall: Ross's 'light-hearted' comment still encourages bullying", Pink News, 6 July 2009, Retrieved on 6 July 2009
^ "UCL Fellowships conferred". 22 June 2006. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0606/06062201. Retrieved 3 July 2008.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jonathan Ross

The Jonathan Ross Show on itv.com
Jonathan Ross at the Internet Movie Database
Interactive video talk by Jonathan Ross on Ealing studios for the British Film Institute

Preceded by David Yates	NFTS Honorary Fellowship 2011	Succeeded by Ashley Pharoah

v t e They Think It's All Over

List of episodes · They think it's all over…

Presenters	Nick Hancock (1995–2004) Lee Mack (2005–2006)

Team captains	Gary Lineker (1995–2003) David Gower (1995–2003) Phil Tufnell (2003–2004) David Seaman (2003–2004) Ian Wright (2004–2006) Boris Becker (2005–2006)

Regular panelists	Rory McGrath Lee Hurst (1995–1997) Jonathan Ross (1999–2005) Sean Lock (2006)

Guest team captains	Steve Davis (10) Sharron Davies (3) Matthew Pinsent (2) Steve Backley (1) Linford Christie (1) Michael Johnson (1) Mark Lawrenson (1) Mick McCarthy (1) Sam Torrance (1)

Persondata
Name	Ross, Jonathan
Alternative names
Short description	British presenter
Date of birth	17 November 1960
Place of birth	Camden, London, England
Date of death
Place of death

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Maxwell "Max" Bygraves and Patrick "Paddy" O'Shea are fictional nightclub bouncers created by comedian Peter Kay and performed by Kay and fellow comedian Patrick "Paddy" McGuinness.

Both characters originally appeared in an episode of That Peter Kay Thing. They subsequently featured as central cast members in the comedy series Phoenix Nights and starred in their own spin-off series Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere.

Max and Paddy are essentially kindred spirits, sharing many characteristics, such as both being of limited intelligence and have very little drive or conscientiousness for their jobs. Both are single and repeatedly signal their attraction to women entering the club, typically with comments made to each other after a group of women has passed them, although Paddy does have a brief relationship with Holy Mary's daughter, who is a student, and also called Mary. Max has one brother, Terry, and drives a light blue 1985 Volvo 200 series saloon, which he has Ray Von fit with a customisable car alarm which features Max’s voice shouting, “Get back you bastards I’ll break your legs!”

The relationship between Max and Paddy is categorised by their (albeit limited) shared interests, such as TV shopping purchases, and a common sense of humour. The two appear to share a mutual respect for each other, despite jokes made at each other’s expense, for example, a running joke through the two series of Phoenix Nights is Max’s insistence that Paddy is going bald, and he frequently points out Paddy’s apparently thinning hair. Despite Paddy’s concern generated by Max’s comments, it is never revealed if Paddy is really going bald or not. When a last minute booking of band Right Said Frank results in the band members stealing stereos from all the cars parked outside, as Max confronts the thieves, Paddy rushes to back him up and together they tackle the two men to the ground.

Following the destruction of the Phoenix Club at the climax of the first series of Phoenix Nights, Brian Potter, whilst attempting to reform his staff line up, calls Max and Paddy as they are driving elderly Asian gentlemen to the mosque and singing at the tops of their voices to Is This the Way to Amarillo by Tony Christie, which is playing on Chorley FM, in what was to become an iconic moment for the series.

Tasked with acquiring alcohol in order to supply the club following the loss of Potter’s licence and subsequently his contract with his alcohol supplier, Max and Paddy drive a van to France, and unwittingly pick up two Chinese immigrants in the process.

Towards the end of the second series of Phoenix Nights, Max is accosted by a woman, known as ‘Fanny’ as she is wearing a badge with a fake name on it, who wants her husband killed. Max bargains with ‘Fanny’ and agrees to kill her husband for fee of £8000. He then lies to Paddy that ‘Fanny’ will pay them each £1000, and Paddy agrees to go with him to do the job. Max, Paddy and Terry travel to an isolated spot and practice their shooting using a Broomhandled Mauser which Max's grandfather left to him, however, when Paddy takes his turn, he accidentally shoots Terry, injuring him. When it comes to the night of the murder, Max and Paddy find they can't bring themselves to kill the man and instead bribe him with £3000 in cash to leave the country, Max gives Paddy £1000, and spends the remaining £4000 on a motor home. A number of days later, however, Max and Paddy spot the man they were meant to kill in town, and are later confronted by ‘Fanny’, who hints that she has put a hit out on them. During the heated exchange, she also reveals that she paid Max £8000, which angers Paddy, who only received £1000 from Max.

At the conclusion of the final episode of the second series of Phoenix Nights, Max, terrified that ‘Fanny’ may have contracted some other criminals to murder him, is about to flee the area in his motor home, when Paddy decides to come with him. This sets the scene for the spin-off series Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere.

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Paddy McGuinness may refer to:

Paddy McGuinness (comedian) (born 1973), English stand-up comedian
Paddy McGuinness (Australian footballer) (1878–1918), Australian footballer for St Kilda
Padraic McGuinness (1938–2008), Australian journalist

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Kay, Peter Filmography

Kay, Peter Filmography

Kaye, Peter Filmography

Famous quotes by Peter Kay:

"Gambling is an unspoken addiction. It doesn't manifest itself physically, outwardly, although it certainly does in performance on the pitch, and mentally."

"So why is it that I could name you two players at [that club] who are in serious trouble with their gambling? And why is that two players at that club have indirectly sought help from our charity? It's a fact."

"[He was] a great comic actor to learn from ... He made me laugh so much. I'm just so lucky to have been able to get to know my hero and the person that I aspire to be."

Make changes yourself !

Contents

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Contents

[edit] Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: 2001–10

[edit] Hannah Montana comment

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