445:. The subject of the documentary is Robert Edge also known as Mr. Softy Top (or Softy for short), an ice cream man who sells soft scoop ice cream. He resents every aspect of his job (which he inherited from his father) and has an intense dislike of children. He often verbally assaults his customers and Darren, his assistant. His attempts to boost sales include inventing the "Millennium Cone", selling at the sites of
489:, this episode follows the staff and customers preparing for a Super Sounds of the Seventies Night concert. The incompetent Matthew Kelly is employed as a steward, having only applied in order to see concerts for free. He is hassled by Live Sec's Chris and Sean, and is angry when, instead of stewarding the concert, he is left in charge of the car park.
460:. This results in the final triumph of Signór Whippee, although he is later exposed as an illegal immigrant. Softy leaves the ice cream business and goes on to open a sex shop called Softy's Hard Stuff, but continues to sell ice cream in the shop, while Darren becomes an ice cream man full time and uses Signór Whippee's van.
415:
Set in the Apollo Bingo Hall, the episode follows a day in the life of the customers and employees, including the idealistic
Patrick O'Neil—an ambitious teenage employee who does not like working at the hall—his friends Yvonne and Sparky, the arrogant bingo caller Tom Dale, the owner Ron Hibbert (who
544:
A documentary following the rise and fall of Marc Park, 12 months after he won Talent Trek at the
Neptune Club. After rising to fame as part of pop group Park Avenue, Park dumped partner Cheryl Avenue when she became pregnant. After two or three hits, he found he was being portrayed as a villain in
568:(Kay) – Notoriously selfish social secretary of the working men's club The Neptune. He lost the use of his legs when his former club flooded. It is suggested that he can actually walk, as at the end of the episode he is seen to stand whilst remonstrating with a group of firefighters.
514:
The episode follows
Leonard, a local eccentric, in the run-up to his receiving an award for being Britain's oldest paper boy. Leonard introduces other local eccentrics including The Duke, who walks around Bolton drawing his fingers from his pockets as if they were guns and shouting
788:(Claire Rhodes) – An aspiring pop star, and former member of Park Avenue, she is the former long suffering partner of Marc Park and mother to his child. She later gained a pop career in her own right while also making her ex look bad much to Marc's chagrin.
519:!", and Carl, who waves at cars. His aunt claims he was over-protected by his mother, and, as much as he likes to be everybody's friend, he has no real friends of his own. This does not break Leonard's spirit and he remains optimistic throughout.
545:
another documentary focusing on Cheryl's struggles as an unemployed single mother. Eventually Marc returns to his job as a greengrocer and moves in with his brother Frank whilst Cheryl becomes a star, much to the frustration of Marc.
449:, and renting pornographic videos. To make matters worse, he has to compete with another ice cream man who has started trading in the locality: Signór Whippee, who sells whipped ice cream. The second half of the episode is set at
390:. It follows the grand final of the annual Talent Trek 99 competition. Characters include the club's social secretary Brian Potter, the club's compère Jerry St. Clair, the bouncers Max and Paddy and the house band Les Alanos.
456:, where Softy runs out of ice cream and has to send Darren to get more. However, the ice cream Darren brings back has melted and has bought Crunchie bars instead of Flakes, causing Softy to have a
290:, each episode functions as a self-contained documentary following a different set of characters, many of them played by Kay. The pilot episode, "The Services", was shown in 1998 as an episode of
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In
Episode 1, it was claimed Brian joined the Neptune club as a new member of staff, however this is inaccurate as his former club before, the Aquarius, as seen in
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353:. The episode charts a day in the life of the unruly station manager Pearl Hardman and her employees, including the
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is afraid of Tom), questionable fire safety officer Keith Lard, and the various old women who inhabit the club.
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678:(Kay and Beatrice Kelley) – Two middle-aged bingo fans who assume anyone who wins is sleeping with Tom Dale.
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bingo caller known for his bizarre pre-show preparations and his catchphrase "Let's tickle those balls".
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before his wife left him and he had a nervous breakdown. He now runs his own breakdown company, "ARC".
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volunteer who is devoted to his job, but treated with contempt by those he treats.
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and Gareth Hughes, and was directed by Andrew
Gillman. The series was narrated by
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714:(Kay) – An aspiring Irish actor who is unhappily stuck in several part-time jobs.
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he is unable to work, but has a paper round and is, therefore, Britain's oldest
286:, with the exception of the pilot, which was narrated by Kay. Set in and around
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708:(Kristian Tiffany) – A college student who works for Mr. Softy Top on weekends.
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Chorley FM. He is obsessed with the music of the 1980s. He sports a
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teenager
Matthew Kelly. Panic then ensues when they discover that
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This episode revolves around the fading popularity of local
863:, still features all the Neptune's staff and committee.
754:(Kay) – The other half of the security group Live Sec.
794:(Kay) – A would-be career woman who manages a Bolton
760:(Kay) – An elderly, kindly local eccentric. Due to
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895:"Phoenix Nights: A guide to Peter Kay's hit show"
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921:That Peter Kay Thing
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826:That Peter Kay Thing
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259:That Peter Kay Thing
25:That Peter Kay Thing
897:. 30 January 2015.
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306:Episode list
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183:Running time
138:(inc. pilot)
83:Sian Foulkes
24:
15:
776:greengrocer
718:Johnny Utah
686:Robert Edge
634:disc jockey
629:Paul le Roy
610:Toby Foster
594:Dave Spikey
485:Set in the
469:"The Arena"
454:Bolton Show
399:"Eyes Down"
276:Dave Spikey
162:Sandie Kirk
133:of episodes
77:Toby Foster
74:Dave Spikey
57:Directed by
51:Dave Spikey
935:Categories
867:References
742:Chris Choi
668:(Kay) – A
649:Keith Lard
618:Steve Edge
601:Les Alanos
553:Characters
535:2000-02-16
517:John Wayne
505:2000-02-09
476:2000-02-02
432:2000-01-26
406:2000-01-19
377:2000-01-12
351:Comedy Lab
336:1998-11-09
293:Comedy Lab
226:2000-02-16
216:2000-01-13
212:13 January
170:Ian Hilton
144:Production
97:Steve Edge
92:Kay Kelley
41:Written by
31:Created by
821:Reception
772:Marc Park
722:Wild West
690:ice cream
576:(Kay and
498:"Leonard"
355:depressed
272:Peter Kay
268:Channel 4
243:(2001–02)
203:Channel 4
157:Producers
122:of series
68:Peter Kay
44:Peter Kay
35:Peter Kay
766:paperboy
666:Tom Dale
636:for the
582:bouncers
186:30 mins
65:Starring
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234:Related
224: (
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209:Release
199:Network
114:English
836:Legacy
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762:angina
734:) – A
684:, aka
660:Sparky
642:mullet
612:) and
347:Bolton
288:Bolton
250:(2004)
175:Editor
326:Pilot
318:Title
926:IMDb
850:and
614:Alan
924:at
806:RAC
606:Les
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120:No.
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