''That Peter Kay Thing'' is a series of six spoof

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

shown on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in 2000. It was written by

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 Bolton, Kay studied ...

Dave Spikey Dave Spikey (born David Gordon Bramwell, 6 October 1951) is an English comedian, actor, writer and film producer. He is best known for his stand-up comedy, writing and starring in the British comedy programme ''Phoenix Nights'', presenting ''B ...

Neil Fitzmaurice Neil Simon Fitzmaurice (born 20 August 1969) is an English actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as Jeff, the love rival of protagonist Mark Corrigan, in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show''. He has written for a number of ot ...

and Gareth Hughes, and was directed by Andrew Gillman. The series was narrated by

Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor and writer. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Sp ...

. Set in and around

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

, each episode functions as a self-contained documentary following a different set of characters, many of them played by Kay. The pilot episode, "The Services", was shown in 1998 as an episode of ''

Comedy Lab ''Comedy Lab'' is a British television series which showcases pilots of experimental comedy shows. Series have been aired irregularly on Channel 4 and E4 since 1998. Several pilots first shown on ''Comedy Lab'' have gone on to spawn full serie ...

'', a series which showcases pilots of experimental comedy shows. Many of the characters went on to appear in the successful spin-off series ''

Phoenix Nights ''Phoenix Nights'' is a British sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Bolton, Greater Manchester. The show is a spin-off from the "In the Club" episode of the spoof documentary series '' That Pet ...

''.

Episode list

Characters

* Brian Potter (Kay) – Notoriously selfish social secretary of the working men's club The Neptune. He lost the use of his legs when his former club flooded. It is suggested that he can actually walk, as at the end of the episode he is seen to stand whilst remonstrating with a group of firemen. * Max and Paddy (Kay and

Paddy McGuinness Patrick Joseph McGuinness (born 14 August 1973) is an English actor, comedian and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of Peter Kay, who invited him to appear in his programmes ''That Peter Kay Thing'', '' Phoenix Nights'' and ''M ...

) – Two inept bouncers at the Neptune. * Jerry St. Clair (

) – Part-time builder and compère at the Neptune Club, and a previous winner of Talent Trek. * Les Alanos – The Neptune's house band, Les (

Toby Foster Toby Foster (born 13 August 1969) is a British comedian, actor, radio presenter, promoter and festival producer. He went to the Barnburgh Junior School, followed by Lacewood Primary School, Dearneside Comprehensive and Wath Comprehensive ...

) and Alan (

Steve Edge Steve Edge (born 2 November 1972) is an English actor, writer and former stand-up comedian. He is most famous for his work on ''Starlings'', ''Phoenix Nights'', '' The Cup'', '' The Visit'', ''Peep Show'', ''Benidorm'' and the satirical magaz ...

). Les originally worked with Alan's father before he left to form the tribute band ''Right Said Frank''. * Paul le Roy (Kay) – A local

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

for the

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

Chorley FM. He is obsessed with the music of the 1980s. He sports a mullet and has a long-suffering wife. * Keith Lard (Kay) – An overly zealous local fire safety inspector who, it is alleged, interferes with dogs. *Patrick O'Neil (Kay) – A cheeky employee at the Apollo Bingo Hall, who along with his friend "Sparky" (Alex Lowe), causes havoc in the Apollo. *Tom Dale (Kay) – A

Liverpudlian Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

bingo caller known for his bizarre pre-show preparations and his catchphrase "Let's tickle those balls". *Rose and Theresa (Kay and Beatrice Kelley) – Two middle aged bingo fans who assume anyone who wins is sleeping with Tom Dale. *Mr Softytop, aka Robert Edge (Kay) – A third generation

ice-cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

man who hates children. *Signor Whippy (Kay) – An ice-cream man and Mr Softytop's rival. *Darren Bramwell (Kristian Tiffany) – A college student who works for Mr. Softy Top on weekends. *Matthew Kelly (Kay) – An aspiring Irish actor who is unhappily stuck in several part-time jobs. *Johnny Utah, aka Craig (Kay) – A surly

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

obsessive, who works as a coach driver. *Duncan Beach (

Daniel Kitson Daniel John Kitson (born 2 July 1977) is an English comedian and writer. Early life Daniel John Kitson was born in Denby Dale on 2 July 1977, the son of a primary school headteacher mother and a lecturer father. He was a pupil at Scissett Midd ...

) – A St. John Ambulance volunteer who is devoted to his job, but treated with contempt by those he treats. *Chris Choi (

) – One half of the security group Live Sec. *Shaun Ballen (Kay) – The other half of the security group Live Sec. *Leonard de Tomkinson (Kay) – An elderly, kindly local eccentric. Due to angina he is unable to work, but has a paper round and is, therefore, Britain's oldest

paperboy A paperboy is someoneoften an older child or adolescentwho distributes printed newspapers to homes or offices on a regular route, usually by bicycle or automobile. In Western nations during the heyday of print newspapers during the early 20th ce ...

. *Marc Park (Kay) – An aspiring pop star, and former

greengrocer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United ...

, who looks like

Mick Hucknall Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he enjoyed a 25-year career ...

. He has a dog called Lady. *Cheryl Avenue (Claire Rhodes) – An aspiring pop star, and former member of Park Avenue, she is the former long suffering partner of Marc Park and mother to his child. She later gained a pop career in her own right while also making her ex look bad much to Marc's chagrin. *Pearl Hardman (Kay) – A would-be career woman who manages a Bolton service station. *Alan McClarty (Kay) – A Scottish mechanic who has worked for the RAC before his wife left him and he had a nervous breakdown. He now runs his own breakdown company, "ARC".

Reception

''That Peter Kay Thing'' won the Best New TV Comedy award at the

British Comedy Awards The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

Legacy

A number of the characters in ''That Peter Kay Thing'', including Brian Potter, Max and Paddy, and Jerry St Clair went on to become central characters in the highly successful spinoff series ''

'' and ''

Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere ''Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere'' is a British sitcom starring and written by Peter Kay and Patrick McGuinness. It was broadcast on Channel 4 and began on 12 November 2004, running for six 30-minute episodes up until 17 December 2004. A spin ...

''. In Episode 1, it was claimed Brian joined the Neptune club as a new member of staff, however this is inaccurate as his former club before, the Aquarius, as seen in ''Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere'', still features all the Neptune's staff and committee.

References

External links

*
That Peter Kay Thing
' at Channel 4 *{{IMDb title, 231048 2000 British television series debuts 2000 British television series endings 2000s British comedy television series Channel 4 comedy English-language television shows Television shows set in Lancashire British mockumentary television series