Peter Kay returned to stand-up comedy to a huge ovation from fans at Manchester’s AO Arena on Friday night that left him wiping away tears.
The opening night of his mammoth 110-date tour played to a sell out crowd on home turf for the Bolton funnyman.
There was feverish anticipation for the show, marking the start of Peter’s first solo tour for 12 years. Peter arrived in a spotlight silhouette akin to James Bond, before the curtain fell to huge cheers from the crowd.
READ THE REVIEW: Peter Kay makes triumphant return to stand-up with rapturous homecoming at Manchester AO Arena
Chants of “Peter” rang out amid thunderous applause from the thousands packing into the arena. He looked quite overwhelmed and appeared to wipe away tears as the crowd continued to cheer.
“Aw you’ll have me in bits” he said.
“Lovely Manchester you made me cry,” he added.
“I can’t believe I cried, where did it come from all that emotion?”
Peter, 49, looked in fine form in a smart black suit with a blue shirt as he had the crowd in stitches with the new comedy show which started at 8pm.
The tour was announced earlier this year, in a rather surprising fashion. In between the adverts of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, on ITV, Peter is filmed carrying a rolled up carpet into his mum’s house. He jokes with the cameraman before confirming his tour and announcing when tickets were due to go on sale.
As expected, the tour announcement sparked an unprecedented demand for tickets when the initial 22 tour dates first went on sale. Now Peter will play an incredible 110 live shows in total across 2022, 2023, 2024 and right into 2025.
After announcing the tour, he said: "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." And after seeing the demand for the shows, he admitted he was ' blown away ' by the reaction.
The two opening nights in Manchester sold out within minutes of going on sale - as did many, many others of the eventual 110 dates added over the next three years.
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