From Trainee chef to Deputy Prime Minister, the Labour frontbencher who helped Tony Blair unite 'old' and 'New' Labour has come a long way since his childhood days in Prestatyn.
The son of a railway signalman, John Prescott left Ellesmere Port Secondary School at the age of 15 to begin work as a Trainee Chef. From 1955 to 1963 he worked as a steward in the Merchant Navy, leaving to attend Hull University where he read Economics and Politics.
Widely regarded as the man who has kept Old Labour behind Tony Blair, Prescott's star turns at party conferences are a firm favourite with both the old and new guard. His first bid at becoming an MP came in 1966 when he contested Southport, finally succeeding at the ballot box in 1970 and becoming MP for Hull East.
After Labour's landslide victory in 1997 he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, and was also given responsibility for the newly created Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
For a brief period, Prescott's career hung in the balance after a brawl on the election trail in 2001. While campaigning in Rhyl, John endured egg-throwing and jeering before suddenly lashing out at farm worker Craig Evans of Llandyrnog, Denbigh. Later pleading self-defence, Prescott's right hook was tabloid fodder for days, with many reflecting on how it brought back images of John's days training to be a boxer in his youth.
The CPS decided not to prosecute, and in many polls Prescott's reaction earned him greater respect among the public.
After a second Labour landslide, Prescott returned bruised but intact to the more cerebral sparring of Government life.
2006 update: Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott admitted he had an affair with one of his secretaries. More from BBC News
Deputy Prime Minister for the New Labour Government from 1997.