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| Peter Kay surprises fans with appearance at Car Share screening | |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Peter Kay delighted fans as he made a rare public appearance at a charity screening of his comedy series Car Share. | |
| The comedian, who cancelled his live tour due to “unforeseen family circumstances” in December, took to the stage at the Blackpool Opera House on Saturday evening. | |
| Kay recently announced there would be three charity screenings of his BBC show at the Opera House, each one airing a special finale to the series, as well as an entirely improvised episode. | |
| The second series of the Bafta-winning programme ended on an emotional cliffhanger last year as Kay’s character, John, failed to reciprocate the advances of his car share colleague, Kayleigh, played by Sian Gibson. Viewers were dismayed when he said there were no plans to pen a further series. | |
| The event was held to raise money for the Lily Foundation, which Kay previously described as “an inspiring charity” that helps to improve the lives of children with mitochondrial disease. | |
| In footage of his brief appearance posted on Twitter, Kay, 44, told the audience: “Thank you very much for supporting the Lily Foundation raising money for mitochondrial disease. Very kind of you. I appreciate it. Enjoy the last ever episode of Car Share. Don’t tell anyone the end. Or tell anyone about any hedgehogs.” | |
| Bowing as he left the stage, he added: “So thank you. Lots of love, enjoy, take care, bye-bye.” | |
| The audience had gathered in Blackpool to see a sneak preview of the final ever episode of Car Share. | |
| Car Share viewers were disappointed when Kay said he wanted to “quit while you’re ahead” last year. More than 100,000 fans signed an online petition demanding a conclusion to the series. | |
| The comedian later announced the special finale to reveal what happens next for John and Kayleigh, along with the improvised episode, Car Share: Unscripted. | |
| He had said at the time: “We were completely overwhelmed by the response and even though we’ve no plans to write a third series we knew we couldn’t end the story there.” | He had said at the time: “We were completely overwhelmed by the response and even though we’ve no plans to write a third series we knew we couldn’t end the story there.” |
| Alison Moore, 45, said Kay appeared on stage after the interval between the episodes to a rapturous welcome. | |
| “People were shouting out that they loved him, some stood up to clap,” she told the Press Association. | |
| “He just said a few words for a couple of minutes, it was really good to see him. | |
| “He seemed really fine, relaxed and genuinely touched by the reaction he got. He’s held in such high regard up this way. It was just really good to see him.” | |
| A stream of fans took to Twitter to share their glee at the hit comic’s surprise appearance and praise the final episodes. | |
| One said the Car Share unscripted episode was “pure genius” and added that it was “a joy to see Peter on stage tonight”. | |
| Another said Kay’s appearance was “emotional” and “blew us away”. | |
| The screenings were initially announced on 29 March in what was the 44-year-old comedian’s first Twitter post since cancelling his live tour in December. | |
| He said in a statement the cancellation was due to “unforeseen family circumstances”. | |
| He added: “This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first.” | |
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