Greater Manchester actor and comedian Diane Morgan awarded honorary degree at University of Bolton

Actor and comedian Diane Morgan has been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Bolton. Diane was given the accolade at the university earlier this month. 

Best known for her roles in Ricky Gervais’ ‘Afterlife’ and more recently her hit Netflix show ‘Cunk on Earth’, Diane is a familiar name and face in the world of comedy. She was awarded the degree of Doctor of Arts for her outstanding contribution to television and comedy.

Bafta-nominated Diane, who is from Farnworth and attended George Tomlinson School, Kearsley, now Kearsley Academy, where she set her sights on a career in comedy from the age of 15.

In her early twenties, Diane studied at drama school, before working in a succession of jobs – from potato peeler to dental assistant – before embarking on her remarkable career in comedy.

Diane Morgan full acceptance speech at University of Bolton 

At the ceremony which took place at the Royal Albert Halls in Bolton’s Town Hall, Diane said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I should not be here today. I shouldn’t. There’s been a dreadful mistake. I got a G in maths. A G!

“But I thank you for your generosity. Thirty years ago just outside this building I bumped into Maxine Peake who is also a Boltonian and we had met two weeks earlier when we were both auditioning to get into Manchester Polytechnic for the acting course. Neither of us got in.

“It took us three long years to get into drama school and during that time I had various jobs – packing worming tablets, selling fish and chips and I was also an Avon Lady.

“Most of these jobs I’d been sacked from. I was fired from the Last Drop Village tea rooms in Bolton for not knowing what a cream tea is. I thought it was tea with cream in it. But now I have an honorary doctorate! Unbelievable.”

She added: “I am here to tell you that anything is possible. If you’ve got passion and you work hard, you can do absolutely anything, because everyone told me that I wouldn’t be able to make it as an actress, that it was an impossible dream, that you’d need maths! You don’t need maths! You don’t need maths for anything! Take that Rishi Sunak! This is such an honour. I am so proud, thank you so much.”