Saturday Night Peter : Memoirs of a Stand-Up Comedian

Peter Kay

Peter Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, singer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced, and acted in several television and film projects, and authored three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, 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, 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 being reissued to raise money for Comic Relief; the song then reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming that year's best-selling single in the UK.