Manchester comedy club where Peter Kay started out hits 30

Peter Kay was a regular and often compered the shows in his early career

A comedy club that hosted Peter Kay's first stand-up gig and John Bishop and Johnny Vegas as newcomers has celebrated its 30th birthday.

Manchester's Frog & Bucket has also welcomed stars including Sarah Millican and Jason Manford since opening in 1994.

Founder Dave Perkin said it had seen a "smorgasbord" of comedians who found stardom after performing there.

Vegas said it was "the best club".

Johnny Vegas says he has the "best memories" of the club

The actor and comedian said he had so many great memories of the club, which he said gave him the "best start" in his career.

"I did an open spot and then I went away [to live in] Glasgow, and when I come back Dave [Perkin] thought I'd been touring so I got a paid gig as soon as I come back.

"I must have impressed him."

Johnny Vegas says comedian Caroline Aherne went to one of his first gigs at the Frog & Bucket

He told BBC Radio Manchester that for his "second or third gig" Caroline Aherne was in the audience.

"She sat in front row and I took the mickey out of her and she took me under her wing."

He added: "It was the best club. [Dave] ruined me for London because if you compered he would let you do 40 minutes."

"It was a brilliant time for Manchester comedy," he said.

"You had all this talent coming through this club and the best thing about there was it was everything that London wasn't.

"It was like do as long as you want, find what you want," Vegas added.

"It was the best comedy club to work at. I felt we were proper part of something."

Smug Roberts did his first stand-up gig there in 1995 and, like Vegas, said the late Royle Family co-creator Aherne was in the audience and took him under her wing.

"She basically became my mentor - and Peter [Hook], her [then] husband, was very supportive too - and she got me an agent."

Mr Perkin recalls "being skint" and setting up the club "on the wrong side of Manchester".

The late Royle Family co-creator Caroline Aherne was a regular at the club with New Order’s Peter Hook

He said people were laughing at him at the time because the original venue, the old Britannia pub on Newton Street, was "the back end of nowhere".

Following the move to The "Big Frog" on Oldham Street two years later, the venue quickly became a platform for budding northern comedians.

He said comedians then "realised they didn't have to be in London".

The open mic night at the Frog & Bucket helped launch Sarah Millican's career, says Dave Perkin

Mr Perkin said he was really proud of the contribution the club has made to the entertainment industry.

"It is great to see a tiny club has made such a difference to British comedy," he said.

Comedian Jason Manford has appeared at the club over the years

The club is celebrating its milestone with a 30th birthday show featuring emerging talent, as well as established stand-up comedians such as Phoenix Nights star Justin Moorhouse, Rachel Fairburn and Smug Roberts.