I bunked school to go on New Faces... Mum was gobsmacked I was on TV... she gave me more meat for dinner

Recognised today as a trailblazer for Black comedians, Sir Lenny Henry began his career when TV screens were dominated by established white male comics.

- NICOLA METHVEN

But having cracked up his school pals at an open mic night a few times, the 16-year-old schoolboy knew he was funny, which is why he decided to bunk off school in 1975 and try out at the auditions for talent show New Faces.

He famously went on to win. Fast forward 50 years, and as the 66-year-old national treasure this week received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Edinburgh TV Festival, he reflected on how his groundbreaking career took off.

"I was very excited to go to ATV Studios in Birmingham because I had watched Crossroads with my mum the Midlands would stop when Crossroads was on," he recalled.

"Jim Davidson and Showaddywaddy, they had all won New Faces and so I bunked off school and I was there from 10am til 6pm. I was the last person on.

I went into this thing of 'this is it'. This is plan A, there is no plan B or C.

"I did Tommy Cooper, I did Dave Allen, I did all the white people I'd been watching on TV for years the only famous person I could do who was Black was Muhammad Ali. And they had never seen a Black guy do impressions of white people before.