Comedian Peter Kay has revealed that he will do a month-long residency at the O2 in London, starting on 16 December until 18 November 2023.
It follows this week’s announcement of his first UK tour in 12 years, which lacked any dates in the capital.
Kay has been absent since canceling his 2017 tour due to “unforeseen family circumstances”.
“I thought we should bring Peter Who on this trip?” he told Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 breakfast show on Wednesday.
The 49-year-old Boltonian said he could not believe the original tour announcement – which was made during the commercial break of the first episode of the new series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Out Here! on Sunday – it had made headline news.
“I should only be on the news if I’m dead, not if I’m on tour,” he joked.
He thanked the fans and said he was “overwhelmed” by the reaction.
‘Me and Prince’
Kay will be the first comedian to hold his own residency at the 20,000 capacity O2 in Greenwich. He will be performing there once a month for almost a year.
“It was basically me and Prince who did it and look what happened to him,” Kay joked, referring to the US musician’s death in 2016.
Prince completed a record 21 consecutive concerts held at the same venue in 2007.
Prince holds the record for longest residency at London’s O2, with 21 consecutive gigs in 2007
“Michael Jackson, he was a different person, he was supposed to do 50 nights,” said Kay, of the singer who died in 2009 before the start of his planned This Is It residency. “I got his shows,” he quipped.
The Phoenix Nights star told Ball that he already had a few low-key warm-up gigs to do before the tour and more to come.
“No matter who you are, if you’re not funny they won’t laugh,” he said. “I overanalyze it all… but still, they’re doing well.
“I’ve done a few – people keep calling them at secret gigs but they’re not secret. It’s first come first serve.”
Kay said he felt the interest in the new UK and Ireland arena dates, which start on December 2 at the Manchester AO Arena, was due to the fact that ticket prices will start at £35 [excluding booking fees ] – the same price as they were. during his 2010 tour.
“You have to meet people halfway, there are bad times, and that’s why people need to laugh,” he said.
“I think that’s why it was on the news because it was something happy for once and not a gloom.
“I thought it was a nice thing, a bit like having a panda at the end of Newsround with John Craven.”
The dates will mark Kay’s first live tour since 2010, when he scored the Guinness World Record for the biggest selling headlining tour of all time, playing to more than 1.2 million people.
The entertainer has kept a low profile in recent years. He notably returned to the stage in August 2021 for two special charity events to raise money for Laura Nuttall, who was then 20 years old with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme.
There was also a brief return in January 2021 when he appeared on BBC Radio 2 for a chat with Cat Deeley – who was filling in after Graham Norton left the station – about his love of music, mixing and opera Mamma Mia.
He also made a surprise appearance at a charity performance for his Car Share series in 2018.
In a surprise announcement on Sunday for his new tour, Kay was seen carrying a rolled-up carpet into a house and confirming to nearby fans that he will be back to stand-up comedy next month.
The advert ended with fans asking Kay if he had finally bought his mum a bungalow – a reference to the comic’s previous Mum Wants A Bungalow tour. Kay replied yes, explaining that his mother now wanted to put in a new carpet.
Tickets for his tour will go on sale at 10:00 GMT on Saturday 12 November.
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