Johnny Vegas's Biography

His family were devout Catholics, and he trained for the priesthood - eventually dropping out.

Johnny Vegas is a successful comic, but his straight acting too has attracted praise.

On the comedy front he won the critics' award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1997 and was nominated for the Perrier prize. This led to a contract with Channel 4.

Vegas must have relished the commission as back in 1995 he had entered unsuccessfully the Channel 4 "So You Think You're Funny" Contest.

In 2002, Vegas won the Royal Television Society's best newcomer award.

Straight roles have included Krook, an illiterate drunk in Bleak House and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream - both for the BBC.

Vegas has also appeared in The Canterbury Tales as well as working with Johnny Depp in The Libertine. Vegas liked Depp and Gillian Anderson (in Bleak House) because they smoked roll-ups.

Johnny won an award for his performance as Charlie in Happiness. He also acts as Moz, the main character in Ideal.

Before the worlds of comedy and acting, Vegas was a useful potter - he studied Ceramics at Middlesex Polytechnic; and a keen Rugby League enthusiast - he is a huge fan of St Helens and is President of the Blackpool Panthers.

Vegas had a main role in Sex Lives of The Potato Men - which got slated, but proved to be fun. He also had the late Friday night show 18 Stone of Idiot on Channel 4.

In 2007 Johnny Vegas started playing The Oracle in ITV's long-running comedy drama series, Benidorm.

In June 2008 Johnny Vegas starred in Radio 4's The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. A year later, he was cast as the same character Easton in Radio 4's classic serial Mugsborough 1917, which was set 10 years later.

In 2011, he mentored Patrick Monahan who won the ITV1 comedy competition Show Me The Funny.

In 2016, Johnny Vegas became one of the celebrities on the ITV show Drive.

In the same year, he appeared in Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories on Sky Arts.

In December 2016 it was revealed that the BBC One had commissioned a series of Home From Home starring Johnny Vegas as Neil Hackett. A pilot of the show had been broadcast in August 2016 on BBC Two.

In 2017, it was announced that Nigel Havers had been cast alongside Nigel Havers in UKTV Gold's Murder on the Blackpool Express.

In 2023, it was reported that Johnny Vegas was opening a glamping site at a stately home, Melbourne Hall, in Derbyshire.