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Peter Kay’s charity show tickets sell out in less than 30 minutes

Comedian has been largely absent from the public eye for three years

Ellie Harrison
Friday 30 July 2021 15:55 BST
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Peter Kay surprises fans with appearance at Car Share screening

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Tickets to Peter Kay’s highly anticipated return to the stage have sold out in less than half an hour.

The comedian, who has been largely absent from the public eye for the last three years, will host two live Q&As in aid of Laura Nuttall, 20, who has an aggressive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme.

The two shows – called Doing It For Laura – will take place at the 3,500-capacity O2 Apollo Manchester on 7 August.

Both events sold out within 30 minutes of going on sale at 9.00am on Friday (30 July), after which fans were then directed to an online waiting list.

Nuttall – who has just completed her second year at Manchester University where she is studying philosophy, politics and economics – will be in the audience with her family.

She was diagnosed with brain cancer during her first term at Kings College University in London at the age of 18, following a series of headaches.

Her mother Nicola and father Mark first met Kay when they were working at Granada Television almost two decades ago. The couple said they received an unexpected call from the star in January 2019 after their daughter was diagnosed.

Nuttall, who previously worked in HR at Granada and now runs a children’s play centre, previously told the PA news agency: “We’re so excited about it. And it’s so wonderful he can do this for us, just incredible.”

Kay has been largely out of the spotlight since a surprise appearance at a charity screening of his series Car Share in 2018. The 48-year-old made a brief return in January 2021 when he appeared on BBC Radio 2 to chat to Cat Deeley about his love of music, mixtapes and the musical Mamma Mia.

He cancelled his last tour in December 2017, citing “unforeseen family circumstances”.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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