Top 10 Peter Kay Moments

Playing to 1.2 million people, this show earned Kay a Guinness World Record for the most successful stand-up tour of all time. And we start at the end, with Kay treating his audience to a musical mash-up of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”, The Proclaimers’ “500 Miles”, and Queen’s stadium anthem, “We Are The Champions”. Such are Kay’s comic talents, he nails each and every impersonation, giving a performance that his audience will never forget.

Having once worked as a warm-up act for this popular talk show, Kay was quite a regular guest on “Parkinson”. But his best performance came in the program’s final outing when he featured alongside the likes of Michael Caine and Billy Connolly. Even in the company of such entertainment heavyweights, Kay commands the stage. Determined to inject some party atmosphere into proceedings, he arrives armed with a bag of surprises designed to poke fun at both his host and his fellow guests.

If Kay has a catchphrase, then this is it. In this sketch about Brits abroad, he portrays a sceptical father reacting to the joys of foreign food. But the Garlic Bread saga doesn’t end there. The baguette-based foodstuff is also mentioned in “Phoenix Nights”, when it’s enjoyed by Kay’s character, Brian Potter. And it’s got the public backing, too. In a UKTV Gold poll, these two words were named the greatest one-liner in TV comedy history, beating other favourites from the likes of “Only Fools and Horses” and “Blackadder”.

You’d usually skip the adverts, right? Well, not when Peter Kay’s in them. The comedian was the face of John Smith’s bitter throughout the 2000s, turning beer into a laugh-out-loud subject. Among other roles, he played a son coaxing his mother into an old people’s home, a father with frank disregard for his children, and a footballer with a no-nonsense approach to training. But perhaps his best-known part was as a platform diver, wowing the judges with this unusual performance at the pool.

A sitcom centred on a company car share scheme, this show celebrates the chemistry between Kay’s character, John, and his co-worker, Kayleigh, played by Sian Gibson. And in one of the most memorable first series scenes, the pair get their wires crossed in hilarious fashion - all thanks to Kayleigh’s innocent misunderstanding of an otherwise explicit term. Sometimes the simple jokes are the best, and this is vintage Peter Kay.

In this TV talent-show spoof, Kay plays a former dinner lady who wins a singing competition and is catapulted to stardom. And the parody is so spot on, you’d be forgiven for watching the clips and thinking the programme is real. In fact, Kay’s comedy creation was so successful that when Geraldine released her debut single, “The Winner’s Song”, it entered the charts at number two – above former X-Factor champ, Leon Jackson. And Geraldine followed that with a Christmas single, too. Is there anything she can’t do?

For this award-winning comedy, Kay plays Brian Potter, the disabled owner of The Phoenix Club in Farnworth. “Phoenix Nights” is stacked with hilarious moments, and we nearly gave the nod to Brian’s x-rated inflatable for the family fun day. But then there’s this scene, when Kay’s character turns on the charm before leading his lady upstairs - via stairlift. Never has “talking dirty” seemed quite this cringey.

Famous for his observational comedy, Kay’s stand-up shows often transform everyday occurrences into colourful and humorous affairs. And never more so than here. In this sketch, he turns his astute eye to biscuits and the difficulties people face when dipping them into hot drinks. And after dismissing Rich Teas, he moves on to the more durable Hobnob. There’s method to the madness too, as Kay’s quips are backed up by science – Hobnobs emerged as the best biscuit for dunking in a mock clinical trial, in 2016.

As we’ve already seen, Kay likes to bring a bit of music to his routine, like when he rounded on wedding playlists for this ever-quotable gag... But that sketch is second only to this classic piece of Kay stand-up. Whether you’re into karaoke or not, most of us have experienced unintelligible lyrics at one time or another. And after listening to Kay’s take on these famous songs, you’ll never be able to hear them in quite the same way again.

It’s a double act that few saw coming, but has there ever been a finer, funnier musical partnership than Kay and ‘70s singer Tony Christie? We think not. “Amarillo” was re-released in 2005 for Comic Relief, storming up the charts to become the UK’s best-selling single of the year. And while Christie’s vocals are what we hear, Kay mimed the lyrics throughout the music video, which proved a who’s who of British celebrity - with a few of Kay’s comedy characters thrown in for good measure. If you know the words, then now’s the time to sing them!