Comedy legend Jasper Carrott unveils tram named in his honour
Comedian Jasper Carrott was full of jokes in Birmingham City centre today as he attended the official unveiling of a tram named in his honour.
Tipton, Westminster and Birmingham City were all in the firing line for Mr Carrott during his speech at the event in Victoria Square, which he described as "a privilege".
Crowds gathered at the new tram stop outside the Town Hall as Mr Carrott pulled up in the new tram – though he admitted he hadn’t ridden one in Birmingham for 70 years.
The new tram stop is on the West Midlands metro extension from Grand Central to Centenary Square, which is due to open to the public next month.
Speaking after the event Mr Carrott said the honour meant "a great deal" to him, particularly coming from the city where he grew up.
And he added that it was a privilege for him to be able to act as an unofficial ambassador for the city, particularly with its ongoing regeneration.
“It means a great deal to me,” he said.
“This is the city I was born and bred in, and I’ve lived here all my life.
“And I’ve been very privileged to have had several honours here, the star in Broad Street and a couple of other things, and this one means a great deal. I mean the tram won’t be here forever, but it’ll be here for the rest of my life.
“This is the city where I was born, and I have a great love for the city, that’s why I’ve never moved away. And I love the people.
“We get a hard time from the rest of the country, and it’s been my pleasure to go round the rest of the country and tell everybody about Birmingham which I do, and how good it is.
“Obviously I take the mickey here and there, but essentially I leave a good impression – come to Birmingham and we’ll look after you.
“And millions of people are now coming, and that’s not just because of me! It’s because we’ve improved this city beyond belief. We kicked it all off, before all the other city centre regeneration we kicked it off in the 60s with the building of the Bull Ring and putting in the expressways and stuff like that.
“We’re a very go ahead city, we have the youngest population in Europe, and it’s very diverse. We lead the way in diversity, and you never find problems from different cultures in the city. And it’s a great place to live.”
