Caroline Aherne and her then-husband Peter Hook watched his set and she put him in contact with an agent.
In 1998, he released the novelty anthem "Meat Pie, Sausage Roll (Come on England, Gi's a Goal)" as "Grandad Roberts", both the character and song (originally a jingle referencing Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
"[2] In 2000, he headlined with Paul Merton and John Thomson at the opening night of the Manchester Comedy Store.
Between 2001–2004, Smug Roberts was part of the cast of the BBC Radio 4 sketch show, The In Crowd.
The Manchester-based comedy also featured Kate Ward, Robin Ince and Helen Moon and is regularly repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra.