These five episodes chart the Cockney comedian's progression from working-class Herbert to middle-class intellectual giant - and being awkwardly caught between both worlds. Here, Abi Smith looks at how Micky, who was laughed at by his teachers when he said he wanted to be a vet, has triumphed by conquering all on the comedy circuit. In 2012, he starred alongside Mark Watson and host Mark Dolan as a captain on the Channel 4 advertising-based comedy panel programme The Mad Bad Ad Show.

Micky Flanagan by Abi Smith | Waterstones

Chatting to family, friends and special guests - including sociology professor Paul Willis, millionaire plumber Charlie Mullins, and fellow comedian Sean Lock - he considers how his upbringing shaped his identity, discusses the thorny issue of class and comedy, and explains how, over four decades, taking chances has changed his life. His routines online, including the Perks of Peeping, The Shits Abroad, The Crafty Cockney, Tomato Sauce and Chicken Children, have been viewed in the hundred millions, and are a huge hit on TikTok.This became the basis for his Radio 4 series which led to TV andshow-stealing appearance at The Royal Variety Performance, for which he was nominated for the Best Breakthrough Act at the British Comedy Awards. But it’s poking fun, not mockery; Flanagan never implies that his generation (or class) got things any more right than the ones that followed.

Micky Flanagan | Official Website Micky Flanagan | Official Website

On 7 June 2013, he appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside Dan Stevens, Hayden Panettiere, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. He was a team captain, alongside Frank Skinner on the BBC One comedy series I Love My Country, which is hosted by Gabby Logan. His father, Jim Flanagan, who worked as a welder and latterly as a fish porter, came from County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Abi Smith looks at how Micky, who was laughed at by his teachers when he said he wanted to be a vet, has triumphed from his early days working as a fish porter in the East End and as a dishwasher in New York.That sabbatical supplies what passes for the show’s subject, as our host disappears off the professional radar for 12 months. He jokes frequently about modernity – new men, their grooming and preening; millennials and their earnestness.