St Helens, you don’t know how much this means

But anyone who witnessed him collecting the honour three days later in front of a packed St Helens Town Hall audience will realise how much it meant to him.

Johnny, real name Michael Pennington, was the winner of the Imperial Arts Award, in recognition of the critical acclaim his radio productions such as This Sporting Life, and his autobiography Becoming Johnny Vegas, has won.

Pride of St Helens organisers took the step of presenting the award to him on stage at the Town Hall, where he had been hosting an In Conversation event on Monday night to mark his book’s release.

He was presented with the award by Roger Graney, an old West Park classmate, a representative of Imperial Bar, which sponsored the award.

Johnny told the audience: “St Helens, you don’t know how much this means to me. It is very special.”

He said that wherever his career takes him he always returns to his hometown and that he knows the public, his friends and family always ensure he is “kept grounded”.

At the awards on Friday night Johnny was represented by Bev Dixon, his long-standing personal assistant, who has been with him throughout his career.

Speaking afterwards, sponsor Ian Pitts said: “We have a tremendous amount of talent in this town – epitomised by the brilliant Johnny Vegas.”

Arts organisation Watch this Space and young singer Tom Loughlin were highly commended.