In 2001 he appeared on the Weakest Link, in a comedians special and beat Barry Cryer to win the jackpot of £10,200. His character was a pitiable sort always nursing a pint of Guinness. Vegas gained a wider audience as a regular member of Shooting Stars. His appearance was briefly shown during Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and BBC Three's Almost Famous 2. He featured on The Big Breakfast during the programme's final months before it ended in March 2002. In 1996, Vegas made his television debut as a contestant on Win, Lose or Draw in the UK under his real name, but made references to the fact he wanted to be a comedian and that his stage name was "Johnny Vegas". Between 19, he was a member of Cluub Zarathustra, a comedy performance group led by Stewart Lee, Roger Mann, and Simon Munnery. Vegas earned a BA in art and ceramics from Middlesex University in the Hendon area of London, then returned to his home town and took various odd jobs he worked in an Argos warehouse, sold boiler insurance door-to-door, packed bottles of Cif in a factory, and was a barman at a local pub. Vegas was only 13, so knew most of the kids. Whilst competing on Channel 4’s festive special The Greatest Snowman (2021), Vegas revealed that he had to play Santa Claus as his father was stuck at work. At the age of 11, he attended the boarding school and seminary St Joseph's College in Up Holland to train for the priesthood, but came back homesick after four terms. He has an older sister and two older brothers, alongside whom he was brought up as Catholic. Vegas was born Michael Joseph Pennington on 5 September 1970, in the Thatto Heath area of St Helens, Lancashire.