Peter Kay is back - and fans are beyond excited. Tickets are now on sale for the comedian's new 'Better Late Than Never' tour, with ticket websites already struggling to cope with the demand.
It's one of the most eagerly anticipated shows in British comedy history, with Peter returning to the stage for his first tour in 12 years. But while he is loved all over the country, anyone familiar with Peter's work knows he is fiercely proud of his Boltonian roots.
Shows such as That Peter Kay Thing and Phoenix Nights are all set in Bolton, while a lot of his stand-up material references his beloved hometown. As anticipation builds for the funnyman's new tour, we've taken a look back at how it all began for one of Bolton's favourite sons.
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Peter grew up in the Daubhill area, specifically in Croston Street; a fairly narrow street with terraced houses lining either side. It looks none too different from any number of streets in the area.
Over the past 20 years, houses in the street have sold for as little as £12,000 and have cost just £60,000 on average. One of the more expensive properties on the street was bought just two years ago for a modest £78,000 and it may be hard to believe that the house used to home to one of the country's most loved comedians.
Not many of Peter Kay's old neighbours still live in the street and a resident who lives next-door-but-one from the comic's old house told the Manchester Evening News that he was completely unaware of his neighbour's comedic talents until he saw him on TV. He said: "I didn't really know who he was until he did Phoenix Nights!
"We moved in a couple of years before he left and I didn't really know him that well, we just used to see him passing the house on his way to church and things like that. I don't know who's left on this street from when he lived here.
"One of my friends used to know him but he's recently passed away. He got married and left but every now and then he'd pop back to see his mum."
In his brilliant autobiography 'The Sound of Laughter', Peter Kay recalls his school days at St Ethelbert's primary school and Mount St Joseph secondary school - each around a five minute walk from his home in Croston Street. Both schools were run by nuns, with Peter joking that 'nuns and showbiz don't mix'.
However while in Class 3 at St Ethelbert's, he had his first taste of entertaining an audience, when he played an innkeeper in the annual nativity play. Upon going off-script and offering Mary and Joseph 'an en-suite with full English', Peter remembers that the audience 'loved it'.
He wrote: "What a wonderful feeling it is to stand onstage and listen to that sound, the sound of laughter. I felt happy, I felt safe." After leaving St Ethelbert's, he went to Mount St Joseph - a convent-based secondary school, founded in 1902 by the Sisters of the Cross and Passion.
In the Sound of Laughter, Peter protects the nun's identities by giving them humorous names such as 'Sister Sledge' and 'Sister Act 2'. The Manchester Evening News spoke to some of the nuns who taught Peter during his time at the school.
One of the nuns, who taught Peter chemistry in Year 9, said that he was 'never any trouble'. Another said she 'crossed swords' with the comic on a number of occasions, due to his brilliant 'ad libbing'.
She said that if he did it during drama classes, it would often throw other pupils off. One such occasion of his 'ad libbing' is referenced in The Sound of Laughter.
While Peter was playing the Cowardly Lion in Wizard of Oz, he claims to have gone off-script by cocking up his leg and pretending to urinate on stage. During his school days, Peter got his first of many jobs - delivering local newspaper the Bolton Evening News, for a wage of £3.50 per week.
He joked that his body is now a 'walking time bomb', due to the strain of carrying the newspapers on his back. Some time after Peter left Mount St Joseph, the school relocated to Greenland Road, in Farnworth.
The original convent building is now a boarding school, called Al Jamiatul Islamiyah. Between leaving Mount St Joseph and breaking into comedy, Peter had a number of jobs, most of which have gone on to inspire his comedy.
Over the years, he worked in a toilet roll factory, an Esso garage, a bingo hall, a cinema, the Manchester Arena, and several other places. But no matter where his work takes him next, it's safe to say Bolton will always have his heart.
This article features excerpts from Peter Kay's autobiography 'The Sound of Laughter'. It is available to buy online.
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