PHOENIX FIGHTS
Kay should have done Series 3 says co-star
COMIC Dave Spikey has blasted Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness for walking out on Phoenix Nights.
In an astonishing public rant the stand-up comedian accused the pair of abandoning the show that launched their careers.
Dave revealed for the first time how Peter and Paddy cut him out after starring alongside him in two series of the Channel 4 comedy set in a northern workingmen’s club.
He said their decision to walk away from a third series was “thrown upon” him.
Kay and McGuinness went on to make Max And Paddy’s Road To Nowhere together, based on their two doormen characters in Phoenix Nights.
But there was no role in it for Spikey.
Both Kay and McGuinness have gone on to become multimillionaires.
Peter, 45, is reportedly worth
£43million thanks to a series of sell-out stand-up tours and his smash-hit BBC show Car Share, which twice won a National Television Award for best comedy.
He also won a Bafta for best male comedy performance.
Take Me Out host Paddy, 45, is worth about £8m.
After splitting from the duo, Dave,
67, hosted Bullseye and Chain Letters and was a team captain on 8 Out Of 10 Cats.
Dave revealed his heartache over Phoenix Nights when a fan asked him if there was any chance the programme could return.
He tweeted: “You can never go back. Should have done a third series and a Christmas special. The ideas and storylines were there.
“Max and Paddy rode away into the sunset and sadly that was the end of that.’’
A fan asked: “Was that just thrown upon you that they wanted to go their separate way with it?’’
Dave replied: “Yep.”
When another follower asked him if he was “up for” a third series, he said: “Lost cause I’m afraid.’’
Yesterday, a spokesman for Paddy said he had “no comment” about Dave’s Twitter remarks.
Peter’s spokesman last night failed to respond to requests for comment.
All three funnymen were born in Farnworth, near Bolton.
Peter met Dave in 1996 at the NorthWest Comedian Of The Year awards.
Dave, a former scientist who used to work in the haematology department at Bolton General Hospital, was hosting and Peter won.