Peter Kay's website crashes as he announces first tour in 12 years

Following weeks of rumours and speculation, Peter Kay has announced his first live stand up tour in 12 years.

It's safe to say the fans are excited - so much so that his website crashed immediately after sharing the big news.

Aside from a few special charity Dance For Life performances this year, the Bolton-born comedian has mostly kept out of the limelight since cancelling his 2018 live arena tour due to 'unforeseen family circumstances'.

But that hasn't stopped the fans from hoping to see the Phoenix Nights creator return to the stage - and now their prayers have been answered.

During an ad break for tonight's (6 November) premiere of this year's I'm a Celebrity, Kay took to social media to write: "Peter Kay announces his first new live stand-up tour in 12 years!

"Tickets go on sale 10am Saturday 12th November at peterkay.co.uk."

He also posted a hilarious clip of him moving a rug while discussing the upcoming tour before revealing a list of the UK cities he'll be travelling to in 2023.

Peterkay.co.uk

These include Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Belfast, Newcastle, Birmingham, Dublin, Glasgow, Cardiff and Nottingham.

Considering he's one of the UK's most beloved comedians, it's his first tour in well over a decade and his site just crashed, it's safe to say you're going to have to be quick if you want to get your hands on a ticket.

"These will fly out quicker than Glastonbury tickets," wrote one on Twitter, while another said, "Your websites crashed already [laughing emoji] welcome back."

A third added: "Best news ever! Welcome back!"

The news arrives after it was revealed that Kay had been performing 'top secret' stand up shows last month, which only further fuelled rumours that the comedy legend was about to embark on a comeback tour.

Of course, now we know this to be the case.

Peterkay.co.uk

The 49-year-old actor appeared at a theatre in Salford at the start of October to perform some 'new material' for a select audience.

A woman named Paula, who was lucky enough to catch the exclusive performance live, shared some details from the show on Twitter, admitting that it was so hush-hush that she 'thought it was a scam at first'.

She wrote: "Omg just been to a secret gig with Peter Kay at The Lowry. Best night of my life ever, that guy is a legend. "Phones in locked pounces, secret ticket collection, the lot. Still buzzing."

In another tweet, she added: "We felt really lucky. He had been on the night before so not sure how many of these little gigs he is doing but the whole room was giddy. It was brilliant."

Paula also noted that the audience had to hand in their phones 'to be put in a pouch' to keep his 'new material' top secret.

Kay took a step back from comedy in 2018 after cancelling his live arena tour, saying at the time: "Due to unforeseen family circumstances I deeply regret that I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects.

"This unfortunately includes my upcoming stand-up tour, Dance For Life shows and any outstanding live work commitments.

Chris Bull/Alamy Stock Photo

"My sincerest apologies. This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first.

"I’ve always endeavoured to protect my family’s privacy from the media. I hope that the media and the public will continue to respect our privacy at this time. Once again I’m very sorry."

He made a brief return to the stage earlier this year with the return of his Dance For Life show in aid of Cancer Research UK.

But now he's back and ready for action - here's hoping that his site doesn't crash next Saturday!