Paddy McGuinness was among the hundred of thousands of people who claimed to have been trying to get tickets to see Peter Kay's much-anticipated return to the stage when it was revealed last year.
Back in November, fans were whipped up into a frenzy when he announced that he was heading back on the road with his first stand-up tour in 12 years. And just weeks later, Peter's huge new UK comedy tour, aptly titled the Better Late Than Never Tour, got underway on home turf at Manchester's AO Arena and is set to run on until 2025 after huge demand.
During the first day of the presale for the tour, it appeared Paddy would be rejoining the battle to get to see his former Phoenix Nights co-star back on stage when the Top Gear host tweeted: "Afternoon. Man’s not got Peter Kay tickets. Have a lovely day."
But days after Peter sold-out arena after arena, resulting in dozens of new dates being added and fans waiting in eight-hour virtual queues, Paddy gave cheeky ticket update. However, it wasn't really about the tickets as the TV star paid a sweet tribute to his childhood friend and former co-star.
Paddy, 49, shared his pride for Peter, also 49, opening up in rare social media post about their friendship. He shared a string of images of the pair to his Instagram page, featuring throwback snaps from Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere.
"I don’t often speak about Pete and his achievements on my socials," Paddy started his post "He’s been a mate since childhood and that’s how I always see him. Regardless of all the great things he’s achieved on television there’s literally no one who comes close to what he does live.
"The amount of tickets he sells is unheard of in the comedy world and beyond! He’s a one off folks, enjoy him, I don’t think you’ll see the likes of him again? Certainly not in our lifetime. I’m very proud you son." Paddy jokingly ended his post by adding: "PS I haven’t got tickets. PPS I don’t need any. #peterkay."
And he's stuck with his claims that he doesn't need to see his friend back on the big arena stage as he shared his own intimate moment with the comedy superstar. Speaking to BBC Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball, Paddy shared his honest response to the news from Peter that he'd be returning to stand-up.
"The mad thing about this show is, he rings me up, he says, ‘I’m going on tour’. So my first thing is, ‘why? Why do that? Why put yourself…’ and he’s like, ‘I want to do it’, this, that and the other," he said. "Great, fair enough, each to their own, and it is very seducing when you’re on stage and people are laughing. So anyhow, he’s put this massive tour on, I come round for a cup of tea.
"So I’m round at his house, kids are out, wife’s out, it’s just me and him and a cup of tea. So he says, ‘get the laptop, I’ll talk you through stuff’.” Peter went on to give Paddy a preview of the show in his "slippers and jogging pants from George at Asda, T-shirt with bean juice down the front."
He continued: "I’m sat where you are to me, he’s done the full routine. I get most people saying, 'what an experience' - not for me. I’m thinking, my tea is going stone cold here. And then the ending’s amazing, it’s really extravagant, imagine that in his front room, how that played out."
Paddy then added: "So I’m like, I’ve seen it in HD, 4K, I don’t need to do that again - so that’s it." And during a recent appearance on Capital FM's Breakfast Show, the Bolton-born TV star discussed the idea of a reunion with Peter.
When host Sian Welby asked the star whether the duo will get together again, Paddy said: "We do talk about it and what have you, but, I don't, I can't, I can't see it at the minute, but we never say never, but it's good to talk."
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