Peter Kay has said he has been bowled over by the warm reception after announcing he will tour the UK for the first time in 12 years.
After five years out of the spotlight, the comedian, 49, admitted he doubted fans would remember him and was stunned to see his comeback had made national news.
Peter has stayed out of the public eye after he cancelled his 2017 tour due to unforeseen family circumstances.
Appearing on Zoe Ball's Radio 2 Breakfast show at Wednesday, Peter said he "can't get his head around" the reaction from the nation.
Peter, who has been practicing his new material in a few warm-up gigs, admitted he wanted to call the tour "Peter Who" due to his lengthy hiatus.
He told Zoe: "I cannot get my head round it. I thought we should call this tour Peter Who. I hadn't been around for five years. I thought I'd be on the news when I'm dead not when I'm going on tour.
"I could not get over it, I was lying in bed with Susan. I had a show on Sunday night. Huw Edwards was on the news talking about me. I was like this is ridiculous.
"I thought it's going to be a slow news day, hasn't it. I couldn't believe I was on the main news on telly."
He later added: "Thank you everybody for the last few days. It's overwhelming. I hope I do a good show".
The comedian will be embarking on a UK-wide arena tour next month, as he takes his brand new stage show to a number of top venues.
The new show was announced during the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! ad break, with a hilarious clip of Peter carrying a roll of carpet and shouting to a man in a car.
The tour kicks off in Manchester and then will travel to Birmingham, Liverpool, Belfast, Newcastle, Dublin, Glasgow, Cardiff and Nottingham.
The comedian will also make history as the first artist to do a monthly residency at the O2.
Peter will be performing at the venue each month for a year, with his first date being Friday 16th December and will go on to perform 21st January, 18th February, 22nd March and 22nd April. It will run each month until Saturday 18 th November 2023.
Peter was due to embark on a series of nationwide shows back in 2017 before cancelling due to unforeseen family circumstances.
When cancelling the 100-date sell-out tour, he released a statement which read: "Due to unforeseen family circumstances I deeply regret I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects.
"My sincerest apologies."
He added: "This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first."
Peter has stayed largely out of the spotlight ever since, although he has slowly started making a return to public life.
