 The Tour That Doesn't Tour Tour, which mainly stayed put in Manchester. Earlier this year, for instance, Kay DJ-d at a three-hour dance-a-thon, part of his jolly Dance for Life series of fundraisers for cancer research. And the venue he's kicking off his tour at, Manchester Arena, played host in 2015 to his Phoenix Nights Live show, the stage spin-off to the Channel 4 working men's club sitcom that made him a star in the early 2000s. Still, this is about as big a live comedy comeback as we've seen since the Pythons reconvened in 2014. It hopefully now moves things on from questions about Kay's health which surfaced when the tour, originally scheduled for 2018, was suddenly cancelled in late 2017. His expressed desire for privacy in the accompanying statement led to speculation; his public appearances, notably one in 2018 in Blackpool to accompany a charity screening of the finale of his BBC sitcom Car Share, elicited a running commentary on how well, or not, he looked. Anyone foolish or ghoulish enough to book to see the new show in a bid to hear from the horse's mouth what – pandemic aside – has held him back all this time, is bound to be disappointed. And moreover simply misses the 'point' of Kay. His gift lies in making you feel warmly part and parcel of his world, without divulging the domestic details that make you feel){kind=link}
The nation’s top comfort-blanket comedian will embark on his first live tour in 12 years – and he couldn’t be returning at a better time
Grab yourself a round of garlic bread, tuck in, and rejoice! Peter Kay, one of the most popularly revered British comedians of modern times, second only to Billy Connolly in terms of nationwide affection, is back in business, presenting a new stand-up show for the first time in 12 years – from December.
The long tour – revealed in a surprise, drolly low-key advert during I’m A Celebrity… on Sunday and causing the biggest viral stir of the night – doesn’t, it should be said, represent some Kate Bush-like emergence from lofty reclusion.
The Bolton-born funnyman, 49, hasn’t been wholly off the scene since 2010’s world-record breaking (sales-wise) The Tour That Doesn’t Tour Tour, which mainly stayed put in Manchester. Earlier this year, for instance, Kay DJ-d at a three-hour dance-a-thon, part of his jolly Dance for Life series of fundraisers for cancer research. And the venue he’s kicking off his tour at, Manchester Arena, played host in 2015 to his Phoenix Nights Live show, the stage spin-off to the Channel 4 working men’s club sitcom that made him a star in the early 2000s.
Still, this is about as big a live comedy comeback as we’ve seen since the Pythons reconvened in 2014. It hopefully now moves things on from questions about Kay’s health which surfaced when the tour, originally scheduled for 2018, was suddenly cancelled in late 2017. His expressed desire for privacy in the accompanying statement led to speculation; his public appearances, notably one in 2018 in Blackpool to accompany a charity screening of the finale of his BBC sitcom Car Share, elicited a running commentary on how well, or not, he looked.