Peter Kay has admitted that his fame still takes him by surprise - joking that he feared he'd 'have to be dead' to make the headlines.
Speaking in a rare co-hosting interview on Zoe Ball's BBC Radio 2 show, the Bolton-born comic shared his shock at how well his tour announcement was received.
He told Zoe and listeners: "I could not get over... I was lying in bed with Susan [his wife] on Monday night because I had a show, a practice, and Huw Edwards was on the news with a picture of me behind him. He was doing the Queen's funeral and he's talking about me!
"I'm going, 'I'm on the news! The main news! This is ridiculous.'"
"I should only be on the news if I'm dead, not if I'm on tour," he joked.
Kay was commenting on his return to the stage with dates all over the UK and a month-long residency at London's 02 Arena, marks his first stand-up tour in 12 years.
And the 49-year-old comic chose a no frills announcement to promote ticket sales of the tour.
Drafting in a pal to help capture him carrying a carpet into his mum's house he casually told her neighbour he was going back on tour.
But the timing of the ad was Kay's idea as promoters splashed the cash for the ad during ITV's I'm Celebrity launch night.
Commenting on his comeback advert, and said: "It got to 9.29pm and I'm thinking 'we've not had a commercial break yet. This has cost a fortune to put this on'.
To which Peter replied: "Yeah, and it got to 29 minutes past nine and I'm thinking, 'They've not had a commercial break yet! This has cost a fortune to put this one.'"
As Zoe laughed, he quipped: "Luckily 02 paid!"
It comes as Peter's 2010 tour, which he has matched the prices off, still officially ranks with the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest-selling comedy tour of all time which played to over 1.2m people.
Tickets go on sale on Saturday 12th November at 10am, will be priced at £35 in his bid to help with the cost of living crisis.
