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Peter Kay
Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced 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. 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. 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. 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.
About Peter Kay
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 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.
Peter Kay Facts
- Peter Kay was due to head out on his first tour in eight years in 2018, but was forced to cancel 100 dates due to family circumstances. He had planned to hit the road to perform in nine cities across the UK from April 2018 to June 2019. He said: "Due to unforeseen family circumstances, I deeply regret that I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects."
- Peter Kay has actually had plenty of chart success! Three of his songs have hit number one.
- Kay has had a more successful pop career than many musicians, working on four top ten singles. He could make it five if Geradline McQueen tops the charts with 'Once Upon A Christmas Song'.
- Kay's popularity with musicians means that he has ended up on stage at Live 8, Leeds Festival, V Festival, the Reebok Stadium with Elton John and at the MEN Arena with Queen.
