Peter Kay announces return to stage for the first time in three years

Peter Kay announces his return to the stage for the first time in three years by hosting ‘two live Q&A’s’ for charity at Manchester Apollo – after cancelling all commitments due to ‘unforeseen family circumstances’

Peter Kay delighted his fans today after announcing he will return to the stage for the first time in more than three years.

The 48-year-old comedian will perform a double bill of charity shows at the O2 Apollo Manchester on August 7 which he has called ‘two very special live Q&A’s’.

The two shows – for which tickets will go on sale this Friday – will be held in aid of Laura Nuttall, a terminally ill 21-year-old woman from Lancashire with brain cancer. 

It comes 39 months after his last stage appearance which was at a charity screening of his comedy series Car Share at the Blackpool Opera House on April 7, 2018.

Kay was last seen on camera in a pre-recorded video for the BBC’s Big Night In coronavirus fundraiser on April 23, 2020 which was filmed from his home in Bolton.

Peter Kay revealed the two new Q&A shows in a tweet posted on his account this morning

Kay tweeted today: ‘Peter Kay will be performing two very special live Q&A’s in aid of Laura Nuttall at Manchester O2 Apollo on 7th Aug 21. Tickets go on sale on this Friday (30th July) at 9am.’

The tweet included links to the Gigs and Tours and Ticketmaster websites where tickets will be available for the two shows, taking place at 1.30pm and 6.30pm. 

It also included a link to the ‘Doing it for Laura’ Facebook group for the charity for Ms Nuttall, who was diagnosed with Glioblastoma multiforme in October 2018. 

Ms Nuttall’s mother Nicola Nuttall said: ‘Still can’t believe this actually happening! So incredibly grateful to Peter for doing this and just cannot wait for August 7.’ 

Kay was last seen on camera in a pre-recorded video for the BBC’s Big Night In coronavirus fundraiser in April 2020 which was filmed from his home in Bolton, Greater Manchester 

The announcement comes 39 months after Kay’s last stage appearance which was at a charity screening of his comedy series Car Share at the Blackpool Opera House on April 7, 2018

It comes after Kay stepped back from the public eye in 2017, when he cancelled a huge 14-month stand-up tour due to ‘unforeseen family circumstances’.

The tour was due to have run across the UK and Ireland from April 2018 through to summer 2019 – and Kay had only announced it one month earlier.

But he said on December 13, 2017: ‘Due to unforeseen family circumstances, I deeply regret that I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects.

‘This unfortunately includes my upcoming standup tour, Dance for Life shows and any outstanding live work commitments.

Kay’s two new shows – for which tickets will go on sale this Friday – will be held in aid of Laura Nuttall (pictured), a terminally ill 21-year-old woman from Lancashire with brain cancer

‘My sincerest apologies. This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first.’

The comedian was then due to make a comeback with a series of six ‘Dance For Life’ shows to raise money for Cancer Research UK in April and May 2020.

But the events – with two due to have been in each of Manchester, Liverpool and London – had to be postponed in March last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kay did however release a special audio-only episode of his comedy Car Share with co-star Sian Gibson in April last year in an attempt to ‘cheer people in some way’. 

He also made a brief return in January when he called into Cat Deeley’s new BBC Radio 2 programme, as they discussed the New Year and embarrassing stories. 

Kay’s tweet today was his first post on Twitter in 15 months, with his last on April 29 last year when he wrote about the BBC repeating both series of Car Share. 

His last Twitter activity was retweeting a post by Rick Astley last October about the singer’s video for the song Every One Of Us which supported Children in Need. 

Kay’s fans had raised concerns for his health after his appearance on the BBC’s Big Night In back in April 2020, with some saying he looked ‘far from 100 per cent’. 

Last September, it emerged his absence from the public eye had seen money continue to roll into Good Night Vienna Productions, the firm he established in 1999.

Described as a ‘writing, performing and TV production’ business, its shareholder funds were £24.8million by the end of March 2020 – £1million up on the year before. 

Some £23.3million of the company’s funds were held in ‘cash in bank and in hand’, while its only reported spending was limited to just £1,495 – on ‘motor vehicles’. 

Kay, whose 2010-11 tour made it into the Guinness World Records after he performed to more than 1.2million people, lives with his wife Susan and their three children.

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