Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, angry comedic rants, and use of

surreal humour Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causality, causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviors that are obviously illogical. Portra ...

. Vegas' television roles have included Moz in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

dark comedy '' Ideal'' (2005–2011), Geoff Maltby ("The Oracle") in the ITV sitcom ''

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

'' (2007–2009, 2015–2017), and Eric Agnew in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

sitcom ''

Still Open All Hours ''Still Open All Hours'' is a British sitcom (2013–2019) created for the BBC by Roy Clarke, and starring David Jason and James Baxter. It is the sequel to the sitcom '' Open All Hours'' (1976–1985), which both Clarke and Jason were invol ...

'' (2013–2019). He has also been a regular guest panellist on the television comedy panel shows '' QI'' and ''

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' is a British comedy panel show on Channel 4. The show follows the game of '' Countdown'', but presented in a comedy panel show format seen on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', with the show being a crossover of the two. ...

''.

Early life

Vegas was born Michael Joseph Pennington on 5 September 1970, in the Thatto Heath area of St Helens, Lancashire. He has an older sister and two older brothers; they were all brought up as

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. At the age of 11, he attended the boarding school and seminary St Joseph's College in Up Holland to train for the priesthood, but came back homesick after four terms. Vegas earned a BA in Art and Ceramics from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

in London. He then returned to his home town and took various odd jobs; he worked in an Argos warehouse, sold boiler insurance door-to-door, packed bottles of Cif in a factory, and was a barman at a local pub. Between 1994 and 1997, he was a member of Cluub Zarathustra, a comedy performance group led by Stewart Lee, Roger Mann, and Simon Munnery.

Career

Television and radio

In 1996, Vegas made his television debut as a contestant on ''

Win, Lose or Draw ''Win, Lose or Draw'' is an American television game show that aired from 1987 to 1990 in syndication and on NBC. It was taped at CBS Television City (one of the few non- CBS game shows to tape there), often in Studios 31, 33, and 43 at vari ...

'' in the UK under his real name, but made references to the fact he wanted to be a comedian and that his stage name was "Johnny Vegas".ITV James Martin's Saturday Morning: Johnny Vegas' real name, two wives, and 'hard battle'
''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

'', 28 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022 He featured on ''

The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 1992 to 2002, and as a revival from 2021 to 2022. The show had various presenters, starting with Chris Evans (presenter), ...

'' during the programme's final months before it ended in March 2002. His appearance was briefly shown during

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's ''100 Greatest Stand-Ups'' and

's ''Almost Famous 2''. Vegas gained a wider audience as a regular member of '' Shooting Stars''. His character was a pitiable sort always nursing a pint of Guinness. In 2001 he appeared on the '' Weakest Link'', in a comedians special and beat

Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory B ...

to win the jackpot of £10,200. In 2002, Vegas starred in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

sitcom ''Night Class'', which he co-wrote with Tony Burgess and Tony Pitts, with

Dirk Maggs David George Dirk Maggs (born St. Helier, Jersey, February 1955) is a British freelance writer and director. During his career as a Senior Producer in BBC Radio he made radio drama adopting a cinematic-sounding approach, combining filmic story c ...

as director. Vegas played a former

Butlin's Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...

redcoat teaching evening classes in pottery. It was a runner-up for best comedy at the Sony Radio Academy Awards. He starred in the

sitcom '' Ideal'' as Moz from 2005 to 2011. In 2005 he played Krook in the BBC adaptation of Dickens' ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...

''. Between 2007 and 2009, Vegas played Geoff Maltby, aka "The Oracle", in the ITV sitcom ''

'' and from 2015 to 2017. In 2012, Vegas played the role of Mr. Croombe in the television film adaptation of David Walliams's children's book '' Mr Stink''. In 2014, Vegas voiced Fat Baz in the ITV4 animated sitcom '' Warren United''. In August 2014, Vegas took part in ITV's two-part documentary series ''Secrets from the Clink''. In May 2013, Vegas played the role of Lord Ratspeaker in a BBC radio adaptation of Neil Gaiman's ''

Neverwhere ''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was de ...

'', adapted by Dirk Maggs. Since 26 December 2013, Vegas has played Wet Eric Agnew in the revived

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom ''

''. Vegas has guest presented numerous episodes of '' Sunday Brunch'' for

. In August 2015, he narrated the four-part series ''Travel Guides'' for ITV. In 2016, he took part in ITV's celebrity driving show '' Drive'', hosted by

Vernon Kay Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English broadcaster and former model. He presented Channel 4's ''T4'' (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' All Star Family Fortunes'' (2006–2015), ''Ju ...

. In August 2016, Vegas starred in a one-off comedy pilot called ''Home From Home'', playing the lead role of Neil Hackett. Filmed at Skiddaw View Holiday Park, the episode aired on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

on 30 August 2016. In December 2016 it was announced that ''Home From Home'' had been commissioned for a full series to air on

in 2018. Beginning in September 2019, Vegas has starred as the voice of the title character in the surreal children's animated series '' The Rubbish World of Dave Spud''. He is a regular panellist on the quiz show '' QI'', having starred in 12 episodes as of 2019. He has appeared as a guest panellist and team captain on Channel 4's ''

'', appearing in 11 episodes. Channel 4 featured his September 2017 poem about a drunk patron on its youtube channel. In 2023 it was announced that Vegas would be the director for a new audio series of

The Wombles ''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycl ...

for BBC Radio 4, with Richard E. Grant as voice actor.

Film

In 2003, Vegas played Jackie Symes in the film ''The Virgin of Liverpool'', Alf Prince in the film ''Cheeky'' and Trevor in the film '' Blackball''. In 2004, he played Dave in the film '' Sex Lives of the Potato Men'' and voiced Uncle Stewart in the film '' Terkel in Trouble''. In 2013, Vegas was the voice of Abu the hamster in the British film ''

The Harry Hill Movie ''The Harry Hill Movie'' is a 2013 British musical comedy film, directed by Steve Bendelack and starring Harry Hill. It was written by Hill along with Jon Foster and James Lamont. It revolves around a fictional version of Harry Hill's adventu ...

''. Vegas provided the voice for Asbo in the 2018

Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited, known simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom. It is known for films and television series made using stop motion and clay animation techniques, particularly those fe ...

film '' Early Man''.

Other projects

Vegas appeared in Joe Orton's '' The Erpingham Camp'' at the 2000

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

. In 2001, Vegas starred as Al in adverts for ITV Digital with a puppet named

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

(voiced by Ben Miller). In 2007, he reprised the role in adverts for

PG Tips PG Tips is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom manufactured by Lipton Teas and Infusions. Brand name In the 1930s, Brooke Bond launched PG Tips in the tea market in the United Kingdom under the name Pre-Gestee, a variant of the original name "D ...

tea. Having achieved fame in entertainment, Vegas received plaudits for his ceramic work. ''Ceramic Review'' praised him, leading to a role in ''Pot Shots'' (collaborating with Roger Law), a film made for an international gathering of potters. This led to his work being acquired for a collection at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

and a commission from Old Spice to design a bottle for their aftershave. In 2014, he directed a music video for Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott. That year he also published his autobiography. In May 2017, it was announced Vegas would be starring in new comedy feature '' Eaten by Lions'' opposite Antonio Aakeel and Jack Carroll, directed by Jason Wingard.

Personal life

In August 2002, Vegas married Catherine "Kitty" Donnelly. In a satire of celebrities selling exclusive pictures of their weddings to publications for high prices, he sold pictures of the ceremony to the adult comic '' Viz'' for £1. They separated in late-2006 and divorced in 2008. They had one child together. In April 2011, he married Irish television presenter Maïa Dunphy in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. In January 2015, they announced that they were expecting their first child together. They separated in late-2017, reconciled in November 2018, and separated again some time before April 2020. Vegas continues to live in his home town of St Helens, and has been outspoken about the pride he takes in it; he is well known for being active in supporting the local community. He fulfilled a lifetime ambition by appearing for St Helens RFC in

Keiron Cunningham Keiron Cunningham (born 28 October 1976) is a professional rugby league coach and former player. A Great Britain national rugby league team, Great Britain and Wales national rugby league team, Wales international representative , he played his ...

's testimonial rugby league game, a friendly against

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

, in 2005. In December 2012, Vegas said that he had recently returned to the

faith in which his parents brought him up and credited the faith for his good upbringing. In July 2014, Vegas was made an Honorary Doctor of Literature (HonDLitt) by Edge Hill University. Vegas is a supporter of the Labour Party and has spoken about his appreciation for the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

References

External links

* * *
Sitting pretty
' by

Miranda Sawyer Miranda Caroline Sawyer (born 7 January 1967) is an English author, journalist and broadcaster. Education and early life Sawyer was born in Bristol and grew up in Wilmslow, Cheshire with her brother Toby, who is an actor. Sawyer was educated ...

– ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 15 May 2005. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vegas, Johnny 1970 births Living people 20th-century English comedians 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English comedians 21st-century English male actors Alter egos Alumni of Middlesex University Comedians from Lancashire English male comedians Male actors from Lancashire English male film actors English male radio actors English male television actors English male voice actors English Roman Catholics Labour Party (UK) people St Helens R.F.C. players English stand-up comedians Actors from St Helens, Merseyside