Peter Kay’s TV comeback revealed after comedian lands role in major Christmas TV special
PETER Kay is stepping back into the spotlight as it’s been revealed that the comedian will star in a major upcoming Christmas special.
His exciting TV comeback has been confirmed after his acting hiatus over the last several years.
Peter, 51, will star in the upcoming Wallace and Gromit Christmas movie Vengeance Most Foul, which marks the franchise’s first feature film in 19 years.
The beloved comedian will play Chief Inspector Macintosh in the animated movie.
He will join Ben Whitehead who voices eccentric inventor Wallace, along with Reece Shearsmith who plays Norbot, a smart gnome Wallace designed to do jobs around the house, and Lauren Patel as PC Mukherjee, Chief Inspector Albert Mackintosh’s plucky young protégé.
Peter’s role in the film comes after he cancelled his long-awaited comeback tour due in 2017 to “unforeseen family circumstances.”
Following this, he retreated out of the spotlight for five years and reportedly relocated to Ireland.
He did make some public appearances, such as for a charity screening of Peter Kay’s Car Share in 2018 and at another screening of Car Share at Blackpool Opera House in 2019, which raised £34,000 for The Lily Foundation.
Peter also made a short return to TV in April 2020 for BBC’s Big Night In Special, as part of a reworked version of his iconic music video for (Is This The Way To) Amarillo.
He then went onto perform two sold-out Dance For Life shows to raise money for Laura Nuttall, 21, who had an aggressive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. She sadly died in May 2023.
After years out of the public eye, Peter delighted fans by announcing he would be returning to with a new tour for the first time in 12 years. His tour, which began in 2022, will run until 2025.
As part of his ongoing comeback, Peter has announced his return to acting, too, beginning with Vengeance Most Fowl.
Peter Kay returns to screens in Wallace and Gromit
The BBC announced the exciting news that iconic animated characters Wallace and Gromit would be returning to the small screen for a new feature-length film this Christmas.
Alongside the beloved duo Wallace and Gromit, antagonist Feathers McGraw is also returning.
Ben Whitehead returns as beloved eccentric inventor Wallace alongside Reece Shearsmith as Norbot, a smart gnome he invented to do jobs around the house but who then develops a mind of its own.
Peter Kay plays the newly-promoted Chief Inspector Albert Mackintosh and Lauren Patel stars as his protégé PC Mukherjee.
Wallace and Gromit: Films and TV Series
Beloved animated characters Wallace and Gromit made their first appearance in 1989. Over the following decades, they have become ingrained in popular culture and have won prestigious awards. Let's take a look at their extensive filmography.
Films
- A Grand Day Out (1989): The pair’s very first adventure, a short film which premiered at an animation festival in Bristol. It was broadcast on Channel 4 on Christmas Day 1990. It was also the first time that Last of the Summer Wine actor Peter Sallis voiced Wallace.
- The Wrong Trousers (1993): This second short film premiered in 1993 and introduced the villain Feathers McGraw. It won the Academy Award for Best Short Film.
- A Close Shave (1995): The duo’s third short film which also featured the debut of Shaun, the future title character of Shaun the Sheep.
- Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005): The first feature-length Wallace and Gromit film, which featured the voices of Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Peter Kay alongside that of Peter Sallis as Wallace. This film’s critical acclaim included winning a number of awards, namely the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008): The fourth Wallace and Gromit short film. This was a murder mystery which starred Peter Sallis, Ben Whitehead, Sally Lindsay and Geraldine McEwan.
- Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024): The second feature length Wallace and Gromit film. It features the return of Feathers McGraw and is also the first full film performance for Ben Whitehead as Wallace. He previously shared the role with Peter Sallis in A Matter of Loaf and Death.
TV series
- Wallace and Gromit’s Cracking Contraptions (2002): A series of ten stop-motion animation shorts of approximately one to three minutes each. All ten shorts were aired on BBC One.
- Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention (2010): A science-themed miniseries and Peter Sallis’ last acting project before his retirement. Sallis died in 2017, at the age of 96.
Appearing in the film silently are Wallace’s best pal Gromit and their enemy Feathers McGraw, a penguin and criminal mastermind.
Additionally, Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh and Lenny Henry will cameo in currently unknown roles.
The film follows hapless inventor Wallace and his canine companion Gromit as they face off against their arch-enemy, the evil penguin Feathers McGraw.
A new trailer has given fans a glimpse of the upcoming adventure, in which Wallace and his pre-programmed smart gnome, Norbot, are the main suspects after a recent crime wave of stolen garden goods from across the region.
It is Wallace and Gromit’s first outing since 2008’s short film A Matter of Loaf and Death, and the first time they will face off against their nemesis McGraw since the 1993 Oscar-winning The Wrong Trousers.
The film will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at Christmas, before being made available on Netflix outside the UK.