Lee Mack may be all over our TV screens nowadays, but he wasn't always a famous comedian.
The 52-year-old, whose real name is Lee Gordon McKillop, once worked as a Bluecoat at Pontins.
Southport-born funnyman Lee started out as a stable boy and working in a bingo hall after leaving school, even riding Grand National-winning horse Red Rum.
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But his comedy career began when he got a job entertaining the guests at the Pontins resort in Hemsby, Norfolk.
It didn't end well, the Mirror reports.
Lee had always wanted to attempt stand-up comedy and after being convinced by a friend - and getting some confidence after a few pints - he gave it a go.
Lee told The Graham Norton Show last year: "I got very drunk, I had a go at doing it as Blue Coat. My mate said to me to just copy all the other comedians at Pontins and steal their jokes and basically talk to the front row."
One joke that always went down well, he explained, was to ask members of the audience where they were from.
Lee continued: "You're supposed to say: 'Where are you from?' They say: 'Scotland' You say: 'Who paid for your holiday?'
"They say Wales and you make a noise like a sheep; rubbish jokes right?
"But I said: 'That's terrible' He told me: 'Don't worry; that's just padding'. What you are doing is looking for the comedy gold which is: 'Where you from?' They say: 'Kent' and you say: 'What did you call me?'"
While it sounds simple enough, things didn't go to plan.
Lee added: "I go on stage; and I say: 'Where are you from?' This bloke says Scotland, I can't remember the joke and say hello.
"I ask another person: 'Where are you from?' the guys says: 'Wales' and I blackout and say: 'Hi'."
"I panic and then I say: 'Anyone in from Kent', this bloke shouts out: 'me'. And I said: 'Well you're a c***."
Lee's drunken antics managed to get him "sacked" from the resort and he was sent to work at Morecambe Pontins "as a sort of punishment".
Later, Lee went on to study at Brunel University. In 1994, he performed his first open mic slot - and the rest, as they say, is history.
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