Brian Potter
Encyclopedia
Brian Chelsea Potter, one of many fictional character
s played by Peter Kay
, is the owner of The Phoenix Club
in both That Peter Kay Thing
and Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights
. He also appeared in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
.
, one of many places Peter Kay started doing his comedy routine in, standing on a crate
. In an episode of That Peter Kay Thing, he also states that he ran the Aquarius club and that is where he lost the use of his legs. He claims that a fruit machine fell on top of him and pinned him up against a serving hatch. After that he was in a coma until the new year, then he'd lost his club, his legs and his will to live.
Brian took over the Aquarius Club after losses were seen, and soon with his management, he had big-name acts such as Bob Carolgees
and Spit the Dog, Cannon and Ball
and T'Pau
, and was soon making profits on the bar of over £500 per night. However, after staying in late, most likely counting money, he was befallen by a tragic accident when the club flooded and a One-armed bandit
fell over, crushing his legs, making him disabled. He had it rebuilt as the Neptune Club, opened in time for Talent Trek 1999. The Neptune burned down soon after, due to Potter's thriftiness on Christmas lights.
There was a discrepancy in the fact that at the end of the episode of That Peter Kay Thing which Brian was in, he stood up at the end after seeing the Neptune on fire. Peter Kay however admitted that the clip was something that had been added by the producer he was working with, and the idea of Brian's disability being fake was abandoned after the plot did not fit into Phoenix Nights.
After the Neptune burnt down, it was rebuilt as the Phoenix Club, Brian Potter remaining the owner. The club succeeded in hosting the final of Talent Trek. Den Perry, the owner of Banana Grove and Brian's nemesis, was said to have been "crying in his beer" when The Phoenix Club got Talent Trek, according to Brian. Perry showed up at the club on the night of the final, acting friendly to Brian. But after the Talent Trek final Perry discarded his cigar in the Gents Toilets, setting a fire in the club, as intended when he threw it in the bin full of tissue paper, but which also happened to contain Paddy's flammable can of hairspray which triggered the fire.
Brian was taken to court and lost his license to run a club because of dodgy fire safety precautions. They lost the brewery, but Brian was not defeated. He decided to reopen the club, planning to make it a Super club serving food as well. He went to visit an old friend and fellow club owner called Frank Cartwright (played by Jim Bowen
), who advised him to get somebody who he could manipulate to become licensee, so Brian could still run it without the licensee suspecting.
Brian picked Jerry St Clair as that man, although Jerry was not completely sure that they could run a club without a brewery. Brian sent Max and Paddy to pick up a truck load of beer from France to use at the club and everything was going all right. Of course Den Perry was not out of the picture yet.
After their success and the stowaways picked up from France (two Chinese men) they opened a new part of the club called the Golden Phoenix where they served Chinese food. The Brewery became interested in re-establishing itself with the club and they put on a show of Stars in their Eyes for them. Den Perry was caught admitting to burning the club down and arrested. Brian had his license back but decided to let Jerry continue as licensee.
In his appearance in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
he was trying to release Max and Paddy from prison. He got people to sign a petition, made T-shirts, a website for their release and various other things. When he came to visit them in prison they warned him to leave them to sort it out.
Of course Brian just could not do that and went on the news about it. After everybody in the prison saw it on the television and knew that Max and Paddy had lied about being professional robbers, so they could get better facilities in the prison. When they were eventually released the first thing they did was get onto the biological weapons department and they went down to the Phoenix club and it was closed for a few weeks while it was investigated. The people present at the club were all hosed down for chemicals.
Brian is a widower to Jean, as discussed in episode 4 of series 1 of Phoenix Nights when talking to Jerry about "tactical manoeuvres".
with Fearne Cotton
in character as Brian Potter.
Recent cameo appearances of Brian include him introducing Des Kaye in the Little Britain Live
special DVD. Brian went to #1 in the charts in March 2007, singing with The Proclaimers
and Andy Pipkin from Little Britain
on "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
", with proceeds going to Comic Relief.
He also appeared as Brian for Sports Relief and after talking to Max and Paddy about their biological weapons department and how it took weeks before they were allowed to reopen he sings a song by Chumbawumba.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s played by Peter Kay
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
, is the owner of The Phoenix Club
The Phoenix Club
The Phoenix Club is a fictional working men's club in Farnworth near Bolton, and is the centerpiece of the acclaimed UK sitcom Phoenix Nights....
in both That Peter Kay Thing
That Peter Kay Thing
That Peter Kay Thing was a series of six spoof documentaries shown on Channel 4 in January 2000. Set in and around Bolton, these followed the lives of different characters and starred Peter Kay as the subject of each documentary. All of the episodes displayed Kay's penchant for nostalgic humour and...
and Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights was a BAFTA-nominated English sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Farnworth, Greater Manchester. The show was written by Neil Fitzmaurice, Peter Kay and Dave Spikey, produced by Goodnight Vienna Productions and Ovation...
. He also appeared in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere was an award-winning British comedy television show on Channel 4 starring and written by Peter Kay and Patrick McGuinness. All the episodes were also directed by Kay. It began on 12 November 2004 and ran for six 30 minute episodes up until 17 December 2004, with each...
.
Character history
Although Brian's age is uncertain, it is known that Brian was not paralysed in his earlier years, as it was seen in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. Before owning the Phoenix Club, Brian is noted to say he once ran the Barracuda Club in LincolnLincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, one of many places Peter Kay started doing his comedy routine in, standing on a crate
Crate
A crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used to transport large, heavy or awkward items. A crate has a self-supporting structure, with or without sheathing. For a wooden container to be a crate, all six of its sides must be put in place to result in the rated strength...
. In an episode of That Peter Kay Thing, he also states that he ran the Aquarius club and that is where he lost the use of his legs. He claims that a fruit machine fell on top of him and pinned him up against a serving hatch. After that he was in a coma until the new year, then he'd lost his club, his legs and his will to live.
Brian took over the Aquarius Club after losses were seen, and soon with his management, he had big-name acts such as Bob Carolgees
Bob Carolgees
Bob Carolgees is a comedy entertainer who appeared on the Saturday morning TV series Tiswas and then later in its adult versions O.T.T. and Saturday Stayback. He is best-known for appearing with a puppet named Spit the Dog.-Career:In the early 1970s Carolgees ran a DJ and modelling school at 11A...
and Spit the Dog, Cannon and Ball
Cannon and Ball
Cannon and Ball are an English comedy double act consisting of Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball. The duo met in the early 1960s while working as welders in Oldham, Lancashire...
and T'Pau
T'Pau (band)
T'Pau was a 1980s British Rock group led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK, and several hits in the United States and Europe...
, and was soon making profits on the bar of over £500 per night. However, after staying in late, most likely counting money, he was befallen by a tragic accident when the club flooded and a One-armed bandit
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
fell over, crushing his legs, making him disabled. He had it rebuilt as the Neptune Club, opened in time for Talent Trek 1999. The Neptune burned down soon after, due to Potter's thriftiness on Christmas lights.
There was a discrepancy in the fact that at the end of the episode of That Peter Kay Thing which Brian was in, he stood up at the end after seeing the Neptune on fire. Peter Kay however admitted that the clip was something that had been added by the producer he was working with, and the idea of Brian's disability being fake was abandoned after the plot did not fit into Phoenix Nights.
After the Neptune burnt down, it was rebuilt as the Phoenix Club, Brian Potter remaining the owner. The club succeeded in hosting the final of Talent Trek. Den Perry, the owner of Banana Grove and Brian's nemesis, was said to have been "crying in his beer" when The Phoenix Club got Talent Trek, according to Brian. Perry showed up at the club on the night of the final, acting friendly to Brian. But after the Talent Trek final Perry discarded his cigar in the Gents Toilets, setting a fire in the club, as intended when he threw it in the bin full of tissue paper, but which also happened to contain Paddy's flammable can of hairspray which triggered the fire.
Brian was taken to court and lost his license to run a club because of dodgy fire safety precautions. They lost the brewery, but Brian was not defeated. He decided to reopen the club, planning to make it a Super club serving food as well. He went to visit an old friend and fellow club owner called Frank Cartwright (played by Jim Bowen
Jim Bowen
Jim Bowen is an English stand-up comedian and TV personality. He is best known as the host of the ITV gameshow Bullseye, which he hosted between 1981 and 1995.-Early life:...
), who advised him to get somebody who he could manipulate to become licensee, so Brian could still run it without the licensee suspecting.
Brian picked Jerry St Clair as that man, although Jerry was not completely sure that they could run a club without a brewery. Brian sent Max and Paddy to pick up a truck load of beer from France to use at the club and everything was going all right. Of course Den Perry was not out of the picture yet.
After their success and the stowaways picked up from France (two Chinese men) they opened a new part of the club called the Golden Phoenix where they served Chinese food. The Brewery became interested in re-establishing itself with the club and they put on a show of Stars in their Eyes for them. Den Perry was caught admitting to burning the club down and arrested. Brian had his license back but decided to let Jerry continue as licensee.
In his appearance in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere was an award-winning British comedy television show on Channel 4 starring and written by Peter Kay and Patrick McGuinness. All the episodes were also directed by Kay. It began on 12 November 2004 and ran for six 30 minute episodes up until 17 December 2004, with each...
he was trying to release Max and Paddy from prison. He got people to sign a petition, made T-shirts, a website for their release and various other things. When he came to visit them in prison they warned him to leave them to sort it out.
Of course Brian just could not do that and went on the news about it. After everybody in the prison saw it on the television and knew that Max and Paddy had lied about being professional robbers, so they could get better facilities in the prison. When they were eventually released the first thing they did was get onto the biological weapons department and they went down to the Phoenix club and it was closed for a few weeks while it was investigated. The people present at the club were all hosed down for chemicals.
Brian is a widower to Jean, as discussed in episode 4 of series 1 of Phoenix Nights when talking to Jerry about "tactical manoeuvres".
Other appearances
On 16 January 2006, Peter co-hosted Top of the PopsTop of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
with Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton is an English television and radio presenter who is known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...
in character as Brian Potter.
Recent cameo appearances of Brian include him introducing Des Kaye in the Little Britain Live
Little Britain Live
Little Britain Live is a stage show based on the TV sketch series Little Britain, performed by its stars, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, and directed by Jeremy Sams. Supporting characters are played by Paul Putner and Samantha Power . As in the TV show, Tom Baker is the narrator, although his lines...
special DVD. Brian went to #1 in the charts in March 2007, singing with The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be ". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents...
and Andy Pipkin from Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
on "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
"I'm Gonna Be " is a song written and performed by The Proclaimers. It was released on their 1988 Sunshine on Leith album, and subsequently as a single. It has become one of their most popular songs, reaching No. 11 in the UK charts and No. 1 on the Australian ARIA Charts in 1989, plus, five years...
", with proceeds going to Comic Relief.
He also appeared as Brian for Sports Relief and after talking to Max and Paddy about their biological weapons department and how it took weeks before they were allowed to reopen he sings a song by Chumbawumba.