Special Kay

BOLTON-BORN comic Peter Kay claims to be a cheerful sort of chap. None of that stuff about miserable personal lives and tragedy that some other funny people go on about.

He owns up to suffering what he calls mild bullying at school and the divorce of his parents – which Kay nevertheless describes as an “amicable split” – but he’s not asking for sympathy.

As Peter Kay’s Top 43 Greatest Comedy Moments come to C4 we should perhaps pause to reflect on why he became a funny man. It happened almost by accident after he spent six years in dead-end jobs.

“I worked everywhere,” he says. “I had jobs in a factory packing toilet rolls, in a supermarket, a video shop, behind the bar in a wine lodge, at a bingo hall, a cashand- carry, in a cinema as an usher, as a mobile disc jockey and at a garage.”

Like many comics, he’s a keen peoplewatcher, and it was during this spell in uninspiring positions that he began to form his stage act.

He says: “When I was working, I would write down lots of things that were funny –things managers would say and phrases they’d use that stood out, and stories about what happened. Whenever I do stand-up, I bring the stories to life again.”

Eventually, thanks to a very creatively- written CV, Kay enrolled on a media performance course at Salford University.

“For once I’d found something I really loved,” he says.

After doing stand-up in clubs and entering various competitions, he became a star mostly due to Channel 4. He may have showcased his talents first on the Beeb’s Sunday Show, but it was an episode of Comedy Lab that really made people sit up and take notice.

It became the pilot for That Peter Kay Thing, his first comedy series, which led to the development of Phoenix Nights, which some claim remains the best thing he’s ever done. C4 also broadcast its spinoff, Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere, as well as Peter Kay’s Britain’s Got the Pop Factor.

The station even dedicated an evening’s schedule to him in 2006, which has been repeated twice. Tonight’s series of programmes isn’t yet another re-run.

Instead, he’s back with a brand new character who will introduce a collection of comedy highlights.

The countdown includes classic clips, unseen out-takes and rare archive footage, as well as a look back at Kay’s work with Comic Relief and a special duet featuring Susan Boyle.

ICE Road Truckers has become a global smash, and it was surely only a matter of time until the brains behind it came up with a sister show. We would call Deadliest Roads a “spin-off” but that seems a bit like tempting fate when you’re referring to driving lorries on the world’s scariest roads.

Having cut their teeth on the toughest terrain in North America, hauling huge loads across Alaska and Canada’s Northwest Territories, three truckers take a trip to the Himalayas, where they put their skills to the test on some of Asia’s most treacherous highways.

After a severe storm strands Rick, Lisa, and Dave in Keylong, Rick leads the charge back over the Rohtang Pass in the dark. An aggressive Indian driver is the next hurdle for Dave and Rick. Then, after the drivers hit their boiling point, they all get caught in a landslide.

LIONEL RICHIE – Dancing on the Ceiling considers the careers of the former Commodores frontman.

Born in Alabama in 1949, he started out as a support act for the Jackson 5 before penning classics such as Easy and Three Times a Lady.

The programme examines his departure from The Commodores in 1982, his success as a solo artist with hits such as the eponymous track and Hello.

He also helped raise millions of dollars for charity and won the respect of many, including show contributors Kenny Rogers (Richie composed his smash hit Lady) and Lemar (who Lionel mentored on BBC1’s Fame Academy).

Plus, the programme considers how Richie achieved his dream of becoming “as big as the Beatles”.