Peter Kay chats to Oliver Callan about ordinary life outside his record-breaking comedy tour, his many Irish connections, and his upcoming Dublin gig for charity.

Peter Kay is in the middle of one of the biggest comedy tours ever staged, but listening to him with Oliver Callan, you’d swear he’d just popped in from the school run – which, in fact, he had. And there were other family duties to look after:

"Took my mum for a hearing-aid test yesterday… that was a joy. That’s the third time we’ve been."

There's just a hint of relatable exasperation in his voice - a reminder that aside from being a superstar comedian, he's still sorting his mother’s audiology appointments. After almost 30 years on the road, Peter Kay says that being a celebrity is a tiny part of his life:

"That’s only probably three-and-a-half percent of normal. Normal life is much more… you can’t live in that world. It doesn’t exist."

Even after performing to thousands at the Manchester Arena, Kay says he's not living some glamorous showbiz life :

"I said to the audience, I’ll be in McDonald’s in 20 minutes; and I always wish I hadn’t. You feel like you’ve swallowed a brick."

Kay speaks warmly of his Irish Mammy, whose accent and character famously shaped "Geraldine," his beloved fictional popstar:

"Geraldine’s easy to do because of my mum. I’m always talking like my mother, so it’s not a problem."

At the mention of County Tyrone, Kay seamlessly switches his Lancashire accent for a perfect Coalisland; his mum's home town. He says his Mum continues to surprise him, as happened when he discovered the woman he’d called Deirdre all his life wasn’t actually Deirdre at all:

"Everybody in Ireland decides they want to just flip the names round from the middle name to the first name. We'd called her Deirdre all our lives and then suddenly something happened with her passport and it's, 'No, it's Margaret Deirdre.' And we're going, what? ‘It's Margaret Deirdre. Deirdre's my middle name.’ I'm like, well, why? ‘I just thought I'd change it.’ "

It becomes a running theme: the Irish habit of flipping names, middle names, and household nicknames. Kay’s wife’s family from Cavan are the same, he says:

"Once we went to a wedding at The Slieve Russell and there was loads of them and they said the name of the family. 'Do we have a P. Gargan?' And about seven of them put their hands up. They've all got the same name. 'And an M. Gargan?'. There were another seven of them."

Peter says he was initially confused when he noticed people answering to names which were different to the ones he knew them by; but he soon got used to it:

"We're going M Gargan? But you're called Kevin? 'That's not my real name. My real name's Martin. Kevin's my middle name.' You're like, oh Christ, they've all changed their names."

As well as the family connection, Peter says he and his own family spend a lot of time in Ireland. He's had a house in Tipperary for two decades:

"We’ve always loved it… It’s the only place I’ve ever gone where I never want to leave."

Kay has now performed more shows at London’s O2 than any act in history – 48 nights. Yet he still finds the venue intimidating - a bit like being thrown to the lions, he says:

"Gladiatorial is the right word, Oliver. Oh, my God. A vast, vast high ceiling. And it's quite intimidating because it's just you. And usually you're on a screen where it's a close-up shot. And, you know, you can't hide. It's not like you're in a band and you can hide behind a guitarist or a drummer or something. You know, it's just you."

The new Irish date he’s announced is extra special: Kay has added a third night to the Dublin leg of his tour in April 2026, with proceeds going to charity:

"All the money's going to the Irish Cancer Society. I just thought, you know, everybody knows someone, unfortunately, who's been affected by cancer. And I just thought it's just a nice gesture."

The full interview reveals Kay's occasional imposter syndrome, his hilarious appearance onstage at a Billy Joel concert and publishing the fourth instalment of his memoirs: Peter Kay's Diary: The Monthly Memoir of a Boy from Bolton. Listen back above.