Johnny Vegas was left heartbroken in his latest Channel 4 documentary Johnny Vegas: Art, ADHD and Me when he was delivered a huge financial blow. The comedian, who hails from St Helens in the North West, was trying to bring his dreams of installing a piece of public artwork in his hometown to life.
Johnny helped to design a bridge structure for the local college, which would connect two buildings together and help provide “breathing room” for students and members of the public. But a project he originally thought would cost around £20,000 skyrocketed to £70,000 – before final estimates reached around £250,000.
Sadly, Johnny was told that his idea “wasn’t viable”. Though he told his colleague he was “not leaving with any resentment”, it was clear the words struck a blow.
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He told the cameras: “I didn’t think it would cost that much. How the f*** am I going to raise six figures? I haven’t got that kind of money! I’ve been so passionate about, ‘I won’t take the money from anywhere else, I’ll raise it myself’. That’s more than I’ve spent on where I live!”
Instead, Johnny decided to paint a series of tiles to depict the town where he grew up, which would be installed on a huge metal structure at local museum The World of Glass, celebrating St Helens’ glass making heritage.
He admitted: “I’ve never done anything on this scale, and I’m out of my depth. I’ve got a head full of stuff that I’m going, ‘Do you think this will work? Do you think this will make sense?’ It’s about the town. But it’s not perfect, as well.
“I’m really struggling, really honestly emotionally. It is keeping me awake at night,” the star confessed as he struggled to hold back tears on his documentary.
Thankfully, the project was a success and a launch night at the museum was held with the town’s mayor – leaving an elated Johnny to celebrate how his neurodiversity and ADHD diagnosis helped him get to that point.