Johnny Vegas says volunteering has helped him deal with losing parents

Johnny Vegas has admitted volunteering in his local community has helped him deal with the pain of losing his parents.

The 49-year-old star - whose real name is Michael Pennington - has been transporting care packages for NHS staff and vulnerable and elderly people during the coronavirus pandemic to help the Steve Prescott Foundation, and the work has given him a chance to "heal".

Speaking to Sue Perkins on the \'An Hour Or So With...\' podcast, he said: "It\'s like some cloud has lifted from me - I honestly feel like this has given me an opportunity to heal."

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Johnny lost his father Laurence - who died from bladder cancer - in 2017, and his mother Patricia passed away in her sleep in November last year.

The comedian admitted for a long time he felt angry over his dad\'s death, and he was even "resentful" of his parents for dying.

He explained: "I\'ve walked past his photos and I\'ve refused to look at him. Now, I\'m having conversations with him like he\'s sat next to me. I feel so much better for it.

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"I\'ve allowed him back in, I\'ve forgiven him for something he had no control over. I never thought I could hit the \'being angry at them\' thing.

"I didn\'t think it was within me, because there was so much love for them. But I\'ve been resentful of them going."

However, Johnny explained how volunteering around St Helens, Merseyside, during lockdown has helped clear his head.

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He added: "This, for me, has just got rid of all the bull**** that\'s been going on in my life of late. It\'s clarified so many things...

"In some ways I feel like I\'m in the best place I\'ve been in in years - just being amongst this community, feeling like you\'re doing something practical. I feel like a St Helens-er again, and I\'ve loved it."