Paddy McGuinness first hit our TV screens as lovable bouncer Paddy alongside Peter Kay's Max in Pheonix Night's. Since then he's gone on to have his own sell out comedy tour, hit stand up dvd and even tried his hand at a spot of presenting. Female First caught up with our fave Bolton lad to talk scary phrases, life on tour and a new series of Pheonix Nights.You've been working with Right Guard on this research into the phrases that men find the most scary. 'We need to talk' was one of the top ones- why do you think men find these words so terrifying?
It is especially scary with the way everyone is texting all the time so if you get on a text 'we need to talk' you're thinking what's the flavour behind it. Is it a good talk or is it a bad talk? I think blokes definitely sweat on most things when it comes to being questioned by women. There's another one my girlfriend has asked me in the past which is 'do you think I've put on weight?' What do you do? Tell the truth and sleep in the spare room for the next three months or lie through your teeth?What is the scariest phrase someone could say to you?
Probably if you're watching tele with your partner and they said 'do you think she's attractive?'And what would your reply be?
She's not a patch on you dear obviously (laughs)You started off your TV career playing Paddy in Pheonix Nights and Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. How did that come about? Was the part written specifically for you?
Yeah well Peter did a thing called The Services years ago which was a Comedy Lab thing for Channel 4 and I had a few lines in that and then he said 'do you fancy having a go at this other thing I've done called That Peter Kay Thing? I've writeen it with you in mind.'
So I had a look at it and thought 'yeah go on then'. So he goes 'well the first audition is..' and I thought 'woooah hold on a minute- old school ties Pete.' But he didn't have as much clout back then so I did an audition in Manchester and one in London and he really dug his heels in for me and I got the part. And- touch wood- I've never looked back since.
Is it true that you carried on working full time as a lifeguard whilst you were appearing in Pheonix Nights?
Yeah I did. When we were filming the first series of Pheonix Nights I was literally finishing a shift at the leisure centre where I was working and going straight off to film after that and vice versa.
At what point did you think it's time to give up the job?
Even in the second series it wasn't as big as it is now. It wasn't until DVD sales that it really took off. It was a bit of a slow burner and it just grew and grew and grew.
It wasn't until the second series when Pete said to me why don't you give up your job and give it a whirl. And at the time I'd always worked right from leaving school so not having things like holiday pay and most importantly sick pay- the best kind of pay- was a big deal and it was a big leap for me.
I'm glad I did and I'll never forget my manager at the time said 'Ooo are you sure you want to do this?' And now every now and then when I'm driving through Bolton in my Aston Martin and I see him I give him a little beep of the horn and say hello.
You've also been on a solo stand up tour. How did you find it doing such a big tour on your own?
Well it didn't start off very big at first. What happened was I put 30 nights on and they sold out almost straight away so we just kept adding nights on and it got to like a 120 in the end. We started hearing all these things back like it was the fastest selling live tour that year and this and that.
I was a little overwhelmed by it all really so much so that I couldn't really enjoy it if you know what I mean. It's only when I look back that I think yeah that was a fair old tour that.
Did you find you got compared to Peter Kay when you went on tour?
No I always said the tour was called The Dark Side because I've always been a bit naughtier than him. You can't help but sound alike because we live round the corner from each other and we've got a similar sense of humour. The new tour that starts in August is going to be a little more accessible for all ages.
On the last tour I got loads of emails off people asking if they could bring the kids and that but regardless of being saying on the tickets that under 16s must be with a guardian and there may be a bit of bad language and that- honest to god- there would always be families there and what have you and they always enjoyed it.
You've also done a bit of TV presenting. Did you enjoy that and is it something you would like to do again in the future?
Well I've obviously been a guest on most TV shows and spoken a little bit and that but I got the call to stand in for Paul O'Grady when he was off. I did it and I really really enjoyed it, so much so that it made me think yeah I wouldn't mind doing that some day. I'm quite good at talking to members of the public type people, which is what Paul does on his show, and I'll talk a glass eye to sleep me.
Do you have any plans for the future?
Do you know what I never really plan that far ahead but the newest thing I am doing is that podcast for Right Guard. That's for the 24 hour man thing they are doing. Basically i've done a few podcasts one is 'Prepare for the Unexpected' which is a guide to my life and how I deal with things and I've also done a 'Guide to Surving the Summer Festivals' too.
Finally, are there any plans for more Pheonix Nights and Max and Paddy?
Yeah we've never said never. It's just that from writing, to filming, to editing something can take a year and a half to 2 years sometimes and it's just working out when we've got the time.
Paddy McGuinness has teamed up with Right Guard to record his 'prepare for the unexpected' podcast. Download now at www.24hourman.co.uk
Caz Moss- Female First
Tagged in Paddy McGuiness