Beloved comedian Peter Kay has shared a hilarious and cheeky confession from his Bolton childhood, revealing a cunning plan he used to secure double portions of school dinners.
The 50p School Dinner Scam
In a recent interview on BBC Radio 2 with host Sara Cox, the 52-year-old funnyman admitted he was always focused on getting as much food as possible while growing up. Kay explained his ingenious method: he would pay 50p for his first school dinner, eat it, then rejoin the queue and claim he had originally handed over a pound.
"She'd go 'oh sorry, did I, did it?' And she'd give me another 50p and I'd get another dinner!" Kay recalled with amusement. He also noted that he was "on packed lunches an all," suggesting a hearty appetite from a young age.
Mum's Special Treats and Health Journey
Kay's mother also played a sweet role in his school dining experiences. He shared that during his primary school years, his mum would visit a local pie shop before a craft class, buy him a pie, and deliver it to the dinner ladies with a request to keep it warm for him. "Funny how mum's there, because they're always telling you to lose weight," he joked.
The conversation, recorded last month at London's Lyric Theatre, turned to his well-documented efforts to manage his weight. When Cox asked if he had ever tried to lose weight, Kay quipped, "Only for the first 48 years of my life." He acknowledged a growing focus on health, stating, "I had to eventually, because you start thinking about your health and things like that, don't you?" He confirmed trying "flaming weight loss groups" and doing "quite well at one point."
The First Spark of Comedy
Perhaps the most poignant revelation was the origin story of his comedic talent. Kay disclosed that a teacher first identified his gift when he was just seven years old. His report card from Mrs White stated, 'Peter likes to do nothing more than amuse the children around him.'
"I just always used to feel comfortable, you know, making people laugh," Kay said. He admitted he wasn't academic and struggled in lessons, feeling that comedy was "the only thing I was ever really good at."
He elaborated on a key early performance in a school production of The Wizard of Oz during his fifth year, where he was cast as the Cowardly Lion. On the fourth night, he decided to improvise. "I got up and I started dancing around on stage and it got a really good reaction," he said. His antics even included playfully cocking his leg on third-year girls who were dressed as trees.
This deviation from the script earned him a telling-off from a nun he referred to as Sister Sledge, who asked, "Is that what you want to be when you grow up? A comedian?" Kay reflected, "And then I wanted to say yeah."
The interview was conducted to promote Kay's new book, 'Peter Kay's Diary: The Monthly Memoir Of a Boy From Bolton', and his ongoing tour. He has extended his 'Better Late Than Never' tour, with proceeds from the final shows next year set to benefit twelve cancer charities.
Sara Cox presents her show on BBC Radio 2 on weekdays from 4pm to 7pm.
