Comedian and poet Tim Key might be an award-winning star now with TV and film credits under his belt but he had to start somewhere. And it looks like his first TV appearance was back in 2002 on Channel 5 when he appeared on the first episode of the series Britain's Worst Driver.

In the programme Key – "from Cambridgeshire" – is featured with longer hair and wearing a loud shirt as he crawls along roads at under 30 miles an hour in his green Skoda with his friend Phil. He says he is known as "timid Tim". "I don't think it's very fair as I'm not so much timid as quite circumspect." He is later overtaken by cyclists and a caravan being towed. "I need to drive within my own parameters that I've set myself which are...that I need to drive quite slowly."

One does have to wonder if it was all a prank just to get on TV. This is someone who did, after all, pretend to be a Cambridge student to get into the Footlights Society.  At one point he says: "I'm quite thoughtful as a man and I think that's reflected in my driving." 

Key later went on to make his name playing Alan Partridge's right-hand man Sidekick Simon and was the star of the acclaimed film The Ballad of Wallis Island. He is also in the cast of US comedy The Paper, which is set to return for a second season. He was also in the very first and very last episode of Inside No 9. Interestingly Britain's Worst Driver does not appear on his IMDB CV.

Tim Key is currently touring with his latest show, Loganberry. And presumably he is not doing the driving. Dates here.

Watch Tim Key below