Peter Kay announces residency at London’s O2 Arena

Peter Kay has announced a monthly residency at the O2 Arena in London, which will launch on 16 December and run until 18 November 2023.

He will become the first comedian to have his own residency at the 20,000 capacity venue in Greenwich.

“Audiences in London have always been amongst the best in Britain, plus I think seeing the show could be part of a nice weekend away treat,” he said in a statement.

“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.”

Fans had been disappointed after dates for his first UK tour in 12 years suggested Kay would not be visiting the capital.

The tour was announced during the commercial break of the first episode of this year’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

The 49-year-old has been largely absent from the public eye since cancelling his highly anticipated 2017 tour, citing “unforeseen family circumstances”. His last live tour was in 2010, when he achieved the Guinness World Record for the biggest-selling stand-up tour of all time.

“I thought we should've called it the Peter Who? tour,” he told BBC Radio 2's Zoe Ball breakfast show on Wednesday 9 November, as the London residency was revealed.

He joked “I should only be on the news if I'm dead, not on tour!”, referencing Prince’s record-breaking residency at the O2 in 2007.

“There's basically been me and Prince who have done it and look what happened to him,” Kay said. “Michael Jackson, he was another, he was supposed to do 50 nights… I got his shows.”