Peter Kay is back and coming to Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena in 2023

Peter Kay is finally back on tour and heading for Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena for two nights on the 6th and 7th January 2023. Tickets go on sale on Saturday 12 November.

Peter Kay made an appearance during an ad break of I’m A Celebrity tonight, announcing. brand new tour in 2023.

“I rang a takeaway last night and I said ‘do you deliver?’. He said ‘no, we do lamb, chicken, and fish’.”

It’s classic one-liners like that that’ve had us rolling with laughter and giggling until we’ve been tasting our tears, along with telly treats and a font of fundraising funnies that Peter Kay is famous for.

The Bolton-born funny man is a comedy genius and he’s now heading back on the road playing arena across the country including Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena.

We love him – and here’s 10 more reasons why the man is, simply, a star.

1. Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

And we certainly missed this giant of a funny man. Peter Kay has been away from the limelight for five years after citing family reasons for the cancellation of his nationwide tour in 2017. And it’ll be great to finally see him back on stage.

2. Peter Kay’s Car share

There aren’t many people who could make a car journey to work a laugh a minute, but with help from Sian Gibson who played Kayleigh Kitson to his John Redmond, it was a four-star gem you could never ‘tyre’ of. Peter co-wrote the series and played the supermarket assistant manager who was paired with promotions rep Kayleigh in a company car sharing scheme. It was awarded Best Scripted Comedy at the British Academy Television Awards in 2016 (the same year he won Best Male Comedy Performance) thanks to comedy karaoke, a will-they, won’t they love theme, and lines you just couldn’t better…

John: “If me Dad ever saw a hearse, he used to have to hold his collar until he saw a four-legged animal.”
Kayleigh: “How annoying.”
John: “You’re telling me. He was an undertaker, got sod all done.”

3. Sneak previews suggest he’s only got better

One fan who managed to see Peter at a secret gig in Salford, seemingly testing out his new routine, Tweeted she’d seen the master comic and declared ‘best might of my life ever, that guy is a legend’.

4. He’s a Guinness World Record Holder

His 2010–2011 stand-up comedy tour – ‘The Tour That Didn’t Tour Tour…Now On Tour’ – was officially inaugurated into the Guinness World Records as the most successful ever, selling more than 1.2 million tickets, the most sold for a stand-up comedy tour.

5. We set him on the road to comedy fame (sort of !)

Peter began studying Drama, Theatre Studies and English Literature at the University of Liverpool, before changing to study a Higher National Diploma in media performance (including stand-up) at The University of Salford.

6. Award winner

It was clear early on he was going to be a comic king when, after beginning to work part-time as a stand-up comedian Peter won the North West Comedian of the Year award. In 1997 he won Channel 4‘s So You Think You’re Funny contest and the following year he was nominated for a Perrier Award for his show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And many more have followed.

7. Amarillo

In 2005 Peter mimed to Tony Christie‘s 1971 hit “(Is This the Way to) Amarillo“,  and was joined by a star-studded cast including Michael Parkinson, Ronnie Corbett, Queen and Corrie stars, and even the legendary singer himself, in a video to raise money for Comic Relief. The song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming that year’s best-selling single in the UK. He followed it up in 2007 with a cover of the Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” – also for Comic Relief –  and in 2009, Peter released ‘The Official BBC Children in Need Medley’, an animation featuring more than 100 characters.

8. Charity legend

With his Dance for Life Tours which started in 2016, the man has raised thousands for Cancer Research UK, taking over huge arenas – like Liverpool M&S Bank Arena in August this year! – and organising dance-a-thon parties to help fund the charity’s amazing life-saving research.

9. Is there no end to his talents?

Along with his role in Peter Kay’s Car Share, he takes acting in his stride with appearances in Coronation Street, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Doctor Who, Little Britain Abroad, Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere – of course! – and Inside No. 9, to name a few.

10. Last, but not least, garlic bread anyone?

It’s one of the best one-liners in comedy TV history and no-one can hear the words or look at a menu listing the Italian mainstay starter without hearing the echo of Phoenix Nights’ Brian Potter – aka Mr Kay – uttering the line: “Garlic bread. It’s the future. I’ve tasted it!”

Peter Kay plays the M&S Bank Arena on 6th and 7th January 2023. Tickets go on sale on Saturday 12 November 2022 and you can book yours here.