Chris Evans says Peter Kay, 45, is ‘getting better’ but he WON’T appear at National Television Awards despite Virgin radio host saying he ‘may well be on the telly tonight’
- Peter Kay pictured wrapped up warm in a black coat and hat in Bolton last week
- Sighting comes after Kay’s last public appearance, in Blackpool in April 2018
- Kay, 45, lives a low-key life with his wife Susan and their three children
- He cancelled first live tour in eight years for ‘family reasons’ in December 2017
- Chris Evans said today: ‘I know he’s been getting better and he’s coming back’
- DJ shared rumour Kay would appear at the NTA’s tonight – but it was scotched
Peter Kay, pictured last week in his hometown of Bolton, Greater Manchester, is ‘getting better’, Chris Evans revealed today
Chris Evans today hinted that Peter Kay is ready to return to public life as he said Britain’s top comedian is ‘getting better’ and ‘coming back’ to TV.
The Virgin Radio DJ, 52, also claimed the Car Share star could even make a sensational return at the National Television Awards at the O2 Arena in Greenwich tonight.
But organisers later told MailOnline the rumour he shared with his hundreds of thousands of listeners today was incorrect.
Mr Kay, 45, who lives a low-key life with his wife Susan and their three children, cancelled his first live tour in eight years for ‘family reasons’ in December 2017.
The comedian was pictured for the first time in public in nine months last week.
Speaking on Virgin Radio this morning Chris Evans said: ‘Peter Kay, He’s not a mate, but I know him. I know he’s been getting better and he’s coming back and he may well be back on telly tonight. Back for the NTAs’.
His Car Share co-star Sian Gibson also hinted that her friend and writing partner could make a shock return in London this evening.
The BBC show is expected to win the Best Comedy award for the second year running.
She tweeted excitedly: ‘Woohooooo we are going to the NTAs – we would absolutely love to get an NTA for the last ever Car Share, so would be so kind if you could vote!’
Most fans took the ‘we’ to suggest that she meant herself and Kay, who she met at Salford Arts College before they were famous.
But it appears that Mr Kay will not be there after all.
Chris Evans said today: ‘Peter Kay. I know he’s been getting better and he’s coming back and he may well be back on telly tonight. Back for the NTAs’
The comedian features in hit BBC comedy Car Share with Sian Gibson, who plays Kayleigh, and the pair are set to win best comedy again
Sian’s tweet earlier this month suggested that she may be in London for the NTA’s with her friend and co-star Kay
The star was pictured wrapped up warm in a black coat, fleece and hat in his hometown of Bolton, Greater Manchester, last Thursday.
The sighting comes nine months since his last public appearance, at Blackpool Opera House during a charity showing of a Car Share episode on April 7, 2018.
Big news: The comedian, 45, wiped clear his jam-packed schedule because of ‘unforeseen family circumstances’ last year
The comedian’s surprise appearance in Blackpool last April is the only time he has been seen in public since the shock announcement about the 112-show tour.
The tour was going to be the biggest in history but was stopped suddenly and Mr Kay disappeared from public life.
Last November his Car Share co-star Sian Gibson, who plays Kayleigh, said the duo had been working a new script together with ‘something in the pipeline’.
Kay’s remarkable rise to stardom from working in a bingo hall and a factory making toilet rolls has seen him amass a fortune which now stands at £32million.
His 2010-11 tour secured its place in the Guinness World Records as the most successful of all time after he performed to more than 1.2million people.
Kay has made a point of putting his family first – a decision influenced by the early loss of his father Michael aged just 59, before his son had hit fame.
Speaking to the Sunday Post in June 2016, he said: ‘I still go to Tesco, I still do my big shop, I think you’ve got to. You can’t be agoraphobic, you’ve got to live your life.
‘I think you’d go insane if you didn’t. When you live a normal life and keep your ears pricked, you hear all sorts of funny things.’