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To many St. Helens is nothing more than a stop on the way to Blackpool. To Johnny Vegas it is so much more than this. It is home, it is his stage, his inspiration, it is so much better than Wigan (another stop on the way to Blackpool). This is why he chose the re-opening of The Citadel Arts Centre to launch his latest comedic vision to an unsuspecting world...The Johnny Vegas TV gameshow. Johnny is the antithesis to traditional comedy. His name might (intentionally) inspire visions of rhinestones, thigh slapping and bright lights, but he's got his feet firmly on the ground. Glamour is replaced by a gritty realism, bright lights by the cheeky glint in his eyes as he winds up the audience in a blatant attempt to instigate violence. Johnny Vegas is never boring. Kicking off the proceedings an hour late in true superstar style, Mr. Vegas came on to introduce his support act (Steve Harris) and split the audience into perfectly honed fighting teams. Instantly the heckling started, with the main instigator being an unfortunate Wiganer who was to be the brunt of the jokes or the reminder of the night. 'Wiganers have a three second memory span - like fish. You can still see them like the walking dead on a Saturday afternoon wondering where their stadium has gone.'.The Wiganer didn't mind and gave as good as he got, and much to Johnny's delight ended up being a member of the 'Scum' team later on in the night. But first it was the turn of the afore mentioned Steve Harris, City Life comedian of the year, to strut his stuff. Excellent at doing that eighties beatbox thing, and at spinning a joke or too, Steve was the perfect warm up for the show we had all come to see. A Jim Beam or two later and we are back for The Gameshow. Which got off to a fine start once again thanks to the Wiganer who told Johnny he 'wouldn't wear them pants for a grand'. And a fine pair of customised flared Farrahs they were, too. Anyway, on with the show. Scum V's Students, the main man at the helm with a few general knowledge questions to get everyone in the mood. Which was fine until it was realised there was no score board or disco dolly to help out - a problem Johnny assured us afterwards would be sorted for the next gig. Round 2: a board with hidden comments which contestants had to match to a place or person. Names like Richard Madeley, Posh Spice & Grange Park Golf Club were bandied about to be potentially matched with comments like 'Piss Drinker', 'career ruining slag' & ' In bred, four headed whores'. Great fun. The night went by in a flash, ending with a feeding fury as the winning side were promised free ale, which by cruel coincidence was sitting on the stage. Exit Johnny Vegas, and exit journalist avoiding the frenzied crowds of thirsty hecklers. This gameshow is destined to take over where "Shooting Stars" left off.

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