Phoenix Nights: Series 1 and 2 [DVD]

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Brian decides to get the club on Crimetime for publicity and a chance to accuse Den Perry. Changes are made throughout the club to make it look good for the TV crew, but the TV appearance is a disaster when Brian loses it after he believes that he is being accused of burning the club down himself. Elsewhere, Spencer is hired for the vacant bar job. The auditioning act at the end of the episode is a one-legged Elvis impersonator. The owner of The Phoenix Club is wheelchair user Brian Potter (played by Peter Kay), who has presided over two clubs in the past: the first (The Aquarius) flooded, the second (The Neptune) burned down. His ambition, with the help of Jerry St Clair, is to see The Phoenix Club become the most popular in Bolton and thus outdo his nemesis, Den Perry ( Ted Robbins), owner of rival club The Banana Grove. Whilst Phoenix Nights revolved around The Phoenix Club, that particular working men's club was fictional. The series was actually filmed at St. Gregory's Social Club, a working men's club found in Farnworth, just a couple of miles from Bolton. The comedy series revolves around The Phoenix Club, a working men's club that plays host to a variety of characters and entertainment including bingo nights, singers, cabaret performances, and a range of themed nights. Phoenix Nights is rarely repeated on British television. During an interview with Danny Baker for Peter Kay In Conversation, Kay stated he resents allowing his shows, including Phoenix Nights, to be repeated as it "dilutes the quality" of the programme, citing Only Fools and Horses as an example of a highly regarded programme "ruined" by excessive repeat showings.

Phoenix Nights, also known as Peter Kay's 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 Peter Kay Thing, and in turn was followed by the spin-off Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. It was produced by Goodnight Vienna Productions and Ovation Entertainments, and broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK.

Series 1, Episode 1 - Opening Night

Phoenix Nights co-creators Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice also play major roles as Jerry St. Clair and Ray Von respectively. Brian and Jerry visit a fire safety day for club owners, which is being taken by convicted dog molester Keith Lard! Keith tries in vain to make everyone aware of the dangers but keeps getting dog jibes from the crowd, mostly due to Den Perry. Channel 4 and Peter Kay would like to state that the character of Keith Lard may have led some persons to wrongly believe that the character was based on a Mr Keith Laird. We wish to make it clear that this was not the case and would like to apologise to Mr Laird and his family for the distress caused. [2] Broadcasts [ edit ] Phoenix nights' follows Brian and his attempts to rebuild his nightclub for the third time... most recently after it burnt to the ground (hence the name phoenix). Peter Kay plays many of the parts himself (all brilliantly) including Brian, the club owner and memorable of all, Keith Lard the fire inspector with some odd personal habits. Quite apart from Kay, every single actor in the show does a superb job capturing the quirks and oddities that make human life so amusing... there's not one single bad performance. The humour is clever, observational, very politically incorrect and oh-so Northern England. As with all really excellent comedy it draws you in and makes you fond of the characters, despite their many flaws. You all know the type of people in this show because you see them everyday at home and work.

A complaint was filed about the show in 2001 by Keith Laird, a fire safety officer working for Bolton Council. He claimed that the character Keith Lard in series 1 episode 3 was based on him. Channel 4 issued an apology for any confusion and Kay maintained that Lard was fictional: Other cast members have disputed the claims over the years, meaning we still have no idea whether we'll ever see more Phoenix Nights on our screens any time soon. What is Phoenix Nights about? Despite its cult status, the series wasn't actually on our screens for that long. Phoenix Nights ran for just two seasons, and each series was only six episodes long. Best Performance in a Comedy ( Winner) BAFTA Television Awards 2016 Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme (Nominee)

Series 1, Episode 3 - Disco Inferno

Ant and Dec: Two illegal Chinese immigrants whom the club accidentally brought into the country. Employed by Brian Potter as chefs. Phoenix Nights won the People's Choice Award at the British Comedy Awards 2002, and was nominated for several others. Peter Kay has hinted at the return of Phoenix Nights on multiple occasions. He's mentioned wanting to do a third series numerous times in the past and recently shared an idea for a Phoenix Nights movie in his latest book TV: Big Adventures on the Small Screen which was released in September 2023.

Two series have been produced, which were first broadcast in 2001 and 2002 respectively. The first series transmission dates were brought ahead to January 2001 due to the success of Kay's first home video stand-up release Live at the Top of the Tower, released in November 2000, and That Peter Kay Thing winning Best New TV Comedy at the British Comedy Awards, which meant the series began broadcasting before editing had even been completed on all episodes. [1] Throughout the two series of Phoenix Nights, a theme of the show is the rivalry between The Phoenix Club and local rival club 'The Banana Grove', run by the flamboyant Den Perry. Brian Potter devises ideas for the club to attract more customers, usually to the disapproval of Jerry "The Saint" St. Clair. As more people come to the club, its popularity exceeds that of its rivals. Despite this, Brian Potter's thrifty ways means he continues to try to cut corners in the running of the club. Following Potter's hiring of two Chinese immigrants, Jerry decides to open a Chinese restaurant inside the club, which, despite Potter's concerns, becomes an instant hit, driving the Phoenix to success whilst leaving other clubs behind. Infuriated at this, Den Perry decides to burn the club again but unwittingly reveals to the clientele that he burned down the Phoenix Club the first time and he is arrested for arson and the club is victorious.Paddy McGuinness played the other member of the Phoenix's Club's door staff, Paddy O'Shea, and the pair went on to star in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere after Phoenix Nights' second series. When did Phoenix Nights start?

As well as being set in Bolton, Phoenix Nights is also filmed in the area. The location for the club itself is St Gregory's Social Club on Church Street in Farnworth, a few miles from Bolton. The show was written by Peter Kay, Neil Fitzmaurice and Dave Spikey. All three writers star in the show, with Kay also directing in the second series. All the music was written by Toni Baker and Peter Kay. Additional material was provided by Paddy McGuinness.Peter Kay played several of the characters, including club owner Brian Potter, club doorman Max, and Bolton Council fire inspector Keith Laird. Den Perry, Brian Potter's rival club chairman, was playedby Ted Robbins.