Peter Kay's new 2022-2023 tour announcement has been met with shock and delight from fans after the funnyman's nearly five-year stint away from the limelight.
The Bolton-born comedian dropped the shock announcement during the first advert break of the I'm A Celebrity launch show, dropping jaws across the country as he appeared on screen carrying a large rolled-up carpet.
In the 30-second ad, a man is shown filming Peter through his car windscreen as he shouts questions over to him.
"Hey look, it's Peter Kay. Hey, garlic bread!" the man shouts, quoting Peter's iconic joke.
"It's the future, lads," the comedian quips back as he wrangles the carpet down a driveway.
"When are you back on tour?" the man asks, and Peter replies: "Next month!"
After telling the man that the stand-up tickets go on sale this Saturday, Peter walks off carrying the carpet while explaining he'd bought his mum a bungalow but now she wants a new carpet - a callback to his last tour titled Mum Wants A Bungalow.
An off-screen voice then announced the comedian's first live stand-up tour in 12 years.
Peter Kay tour dates
Peter's stand-up tour has already sparked consternation from fans after a range of northern cities were picked to host, originally but none in the south - until a second shock announcement.
His tour dates and venues are as follows:
- Friday December 2 - AO Arena, Manchester
- Saturday December 3 - AO Arena, Manchester
- Saturday December 17 - Utilita Arena, Birmingham
- Friday January 6 - M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
- Saturday January 7 - M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
- Friday January 20 - First Direct Arena, Leeds
- Friday February 17 - Utilita Arena, Sheffield
- Thursday February 23 - SSE Arena, Belfast
- Friday February 24 - SSE Arena, Belfast
- Thursday March 9 - Utilita Arena, Newcastle
- Friday March 10 - Utilita Arena, Newcastle
- Thursday March 23 - Resorts World Arena, Birmingham
- Thursday April 6 - 3Arena, Dublin
- Friday April 7 - 3Arena, Dublin
- Friday May 5 - OVO Hydro, Glasgow
- Saturday May 6 - OVO Hydro, Glasgow
- Friday May 19 - First Direct Arena, Leeds
- Friday June 16 - Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
- Saturday June 17 - Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
- Friday July 14 - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
- Saturday July 15 - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
- Friday August 11 - Utilita Arena, Sheffield
Peter Kay's residency in London
Following his shock tour announcement, the comedian announced a London residency at the O2 Arena.
The residency will begin next month, with the funny man hosting shows once a month until November 2023.
The dates include:
- Friday, December 16, 2022
- Saturday, January 21, 2023
- Saturday, February 18, 2023
- Wednesday, March 13, 2023
- Saturday, April 22, 2023
- Saturday, May 20, 2023
- Saturday, June 3, 2023
- Saturday, July 29, 2023
- Wednesday, August 30, 2023
- Saturday, September 9, 2023
- Saturday, October 7, 2023
- Saturday, November 18, 2023
How to get Peter Kay tour tickets
Tickets to the Car Share star's tour go on sale at 10am on Saturday November 12.
They will be available through gigsandtours.com, ticketmaster.co.uk ticketmaster.ie and peterkay.co.uk.
How much are Peter Kay tour tickets?
As part of the announcement of his tour, the comedian also gave fans some welcome news: he was slashing the price of his tickets.
"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," he said.
"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."
The 22-date tour is scheduled to take place between December 2022 and August 2023, although some months have just one or two dates. All of them are scheduled on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and there are no venues in the south of England that have been picked to host his performances.
Peter's last live stand-up tour in 2010 holds the Guinness World Record for the biggest-selling comedy tour of all time, in which 1.2 million people came to watch him perform.
He was set to smash his own record with a sold-out live arena tour in 2017 but in December of that year shocked fans by cancelling the entire run due to personal reasons.
"Due to unforeseen family circumstances I deeply regret that I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects," he tweeted.
"This unfortunately includes my upcoming stand-up tour, Dance For Life shows and any outstanding live work commitments.
"My sincerest apologies. This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first.
"I’ve always endeavoured to protect my family’s privacy from the media. I hope that the media and the public will continue to respect our privacy at this time. Once again I’m very sorry."
Peter has previously spoken about the impact touring has on his family - wife Susan Gargan, their eldest son Charlie and their two other children, whose names have never been made public.
"Once you have a family, the only downside of touring is touring," he one said.
It's believed the family temporarily moved to Tipperary in Ireland after he quit showbiz in 2017.
Since then, Peter has made sporadic public appearances for his charity dance-a-thons and in two special episodes of his sitcom Peter Kay's Car Share, which aired in May 2018.
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