Peter Kay

Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director.

He has written, produced, directed and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books.

Born and brought up in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford.

He began working part-time as a stand-up comedian, winning the North West Comedian of the Year award.

Peter John Kay was born on 2 July 1973 in Farnworth, Lancashire, where he attended Mount Saint Joseph School, leaving with a GCSE in art.

His father, Michael, was an engineer who died just before Peter's career took off.

His mother, Deirdre (née O'Neill), is an Irish Catholic originally from Coalisland, County Tyrone, and Peter was brought up in her faith.

He took several minor jobs, including working in a toilet roll factory, a Netto supermarket, Manchester Arena, a cash and carry, a cinema, a petrol station and a bingo hall, which later inspired episodes for That Peter Kay Thing.

He began a degree course at the University of Liverpool in Drama, Theatre Studies and English Literature.

Struggling with the course, he changed to studying a Higher National Diploma (HND) in media performance (including stand-up) at the University of Salford's Adelphi Campus School of Media, Music and Performance.

In 1997, he won Channel 4's So You Think You're Funny contest and the following year was nominated for a Perrier Award for his show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Kay's first TV project was in a 1997 episode of New Voices, a comedy series which showcased rising talent.

His episode, "Two Minutes", written by Johanne McAndrew, saw him play a getaway driver as two of his friends attempted to rob a pub of its takings.

In 1997, he played a delivery driver in the BBC drama Born to Run.

Also in 1997, he made a one-off appearance on Coronation Street as a delivery driver for Fred Elliott's corner shop.

In 1998, Kay met Susan Gargan while he was working at the local cinema.

In 1998, Kay appeared in a series of sketches for Granada TV's "Last Last Show" and "Roy Mills Films of Fun", where he made his TV debut as a character comedy actor and also did a stand-up set.

Neil Fitzmaurice also appeared in the series alongside many other local comedians who Kay later recruited for his Channel 4 series.

After presenting a slot entitled "Peter Kay's World of Entertainment" on BBC Two's The Sunday Show, Kay made an episode of Channel 4's Comedy Lab, "The Services", in 1998, which won a Royal Television Society award for best newcomer.

This served as a pilot for That Peter Kay Thing.

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, which was an immediate hit.

Set in a newly refurbished social club run by Brian Potter, the first series was filmed in part at St. Gregory's Social Club in Farnworth, Greater Manchester, where the exterior, hallways and function suite were used.

With his public profile raised, in 2000 he co-wrote and starred in That Peter Kay Thing for Channel 4.

This resulted in a spin-off sitcom, Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, which ran for two series from 2001 to 2002 and in turn generated another spin-off, Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, in 2004.

They married in 2001 after being in a relationship for three years.

They have one son together.

He appeared in the first episode of the 2002 series of Linda Green, playing a pizza delivery man who ended up being something of a soulmate to the eponymous heroine.

He has had two roles in Coronation Street.

In 2005, he recorded a promotional video in which he mimed to Tony Christie's 1971 hit "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo", which was reissued to raise money for Comic Relief: the song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming that year's best-selling single in the UK.

In 2008, Kay co-wrote and starred in Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice, a parody of several British reality television shows.

As the series' fictional protagonist Geraldine McQueen, he released the single "The Winner's Song", which reached number 2 in the UK singles chart.

His 2010–2011 stand-up comedy tour was recorded in the Guinness World Records as the most successful ever selling over 1.2 million tickets.

He co-wrote and starred in Peter Kay's Car Share, a sitcom screened by the BBC for three series from 2015 to 2018.

He also starred in the 2015 BBC sitcom Cradle to Grave.

In 2016, Kay won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Male Comedy Performance, the BAFTA TV Award for Best Scripted Comedy and the National Television Award for Best Comedy for ...Car Share.

He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Salford.

In recognition of his contribution to the entertainment industry, Kay received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Salford University on 19 July 2016, at Salford's Lowry Theatre.

The family resided in Bolton until 2017, when they relocated to Lough Derg, County Tipperary in Ireland.

Kay is a teetotaler.

Kay is a supporter of Bolton Wanderers.