Comedian and garlic bread enthusiast Peter Kay has announced his return to live comedy, with his first new stand-up show in 12 years.
Kay - best known for Phoenix Nights, Car Share and his parody of Tony Christie’s '(Is This The Way to) Amarillo' for Comic Relief - broke the news during an ad break for the first episode of this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! on Sunday.
In the short clip, the Bolton comic can be seen carrying a large roll of carpet into a bungalow as a fan shouts at him from their car. Smiling, he confirms he’s hitting the road from next month.
Kay, 49, said of the new tour: “It’s good to get back to what I love doing best: stand-up comedy – and if there’s ever a time people need a laugh, it’s now.
“And with the cost of living at an all-time high, ticket prices are starting from £35 – the same price they were on my previous tour in 2010.”
That show, The Tour That Doesn’t Tour Tour… Now On Tour, entered the Guinness Book of World Records in January 2012, as the most successful stand-up tour of all time after playing to 1.2 million people.
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
He had previously unveiled another tour back in 2017, but this was later cancelled due to “unforeseen family circumstances”.
“My sincerest apologies. This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first,” he said in a statement at the time.
The entertainer has since been away from the spotlight, save for a few charity events and media appearances.
Needless to say, social media is thrilled the comic is making a comeback:
\u201cWould love to go to this. Go on @peterkay_co_uk\u201d— michael (@michael) 1667775340
\u201cFuck me!! This is an emergency \ud83d\ude4c\u201d— Andrew Cushin (@Andrew Cushin) 1667772983
\u201cYESSSSS! @peterkay_co_uk is back\u2026 what AMAZING news!!! \ud83d\udca5\u201d— Zoe Ball (@Zoe Ball) 1667770531
\u201cWe all scream for a Peter Kay tour but you know it\u2019s just gonna be like\n\n\u201cWhat about that Covid ey? WHAT WERE ALL THAT ABOUT??\u201d\u201d— frankie (@frankie) 1667471335
\u201cPeter Kay has just outdone the full opening episode of I\u2019m A Celeb with a 90 second advert announcing his comeback to comedy. What a man\u201d— Mainly Oasis (@Mainly Oasis) 1667771742
\u201cBest thing about #ImACeleb so far\u2026 finding out peter kay is back on tour \ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f\ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f\ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f\ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f\u201d— #ME5Records \ud83c\udfb9 (@#ME5Records \ud83c\udfb9) 1667770602
\u201cOn your phone with the #ImACeleb ad break on in the background and suddenly you hear Peter Kay's voice\u201d— Michael Gooch (@Michael Gooch) 1667770528
\u201cI don\u2019t think an advert has ever caught me off guard like that Peter Kay one. No leaks, no hints, just there holding a bastard carpet in the first Im a Celeb break. Jesus Christ this is incredible \ud83d\udd25\u201d— Billy (@Billy) 1667771460
\u201cPeter Kay tickets will be just \u00a335. Same price as in 2010. Gonna sell out in about 1 minute!\u201d— Kate Smith (@Kate Smith) 1667806625
\u201cLoving Peter Kay still trending this morning \ud83d\ude02\nThat advert for his comeback outdid the WHOLE of last night's I'm a Celebrity.\nAlso.. love the fact he's said ticket prices will be same as 2010. Starting at \u00a335. \ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\n\nLove him.\u201d— Claire Hannah (@Claire Hannah) 1667808141
\u201cPeter Kay is BACK!\n\nPlaying @fdarena on Friday 20th Jan & Friday 19th May 2023. \n\nPlus tickets start at \u00a335 due to the cost of living crisis, the same as his 2010 Tour. What a great thing to do. #PeterKay \n\n\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\n\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb\u201d— Liam Calland \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Liam Calland \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1667771394
And if that wasn’t enough proof of all the excitement, Kay’s website appeared to crash not long after the announcement was made.
The 12-venue arena tour begins at Manchester’s AO Arena from 2 December, and concludes at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield on 11 August 2023.
Tickets go on sale next Saturday at 10am.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.