Peter Kay has been named Britain’s best paid comedian as his eye-watering £34.6million fortune was revealed.
The Phoenix Nights star, 51, has beaten out the likes of The Office’s Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant to clinch the top spot on the stand-up rich list.
Peter is currently in the middle of a three-year tour after returning to the stage in 2022 – following the cancellation of his 2018 gigs due to ‘unforeseen family circumstances’.
According to The Sun on Sunday, Companies House records show that despite being down £1.2million, Peter is still worth almost £35million.
This is over £8million ahead of his nearest rival Stephen, whose fortune amounts to £26.2million.
Peter Kay was named by The Sun on Sunday as Britain’s best paid comedian as his eye-watering £34.6million fortune was revealed
Ricky is close behind his co-writer with £25.8million, but there is a huge gap between him and fourth place comic Russell Howard.
Russell’s pay comes out at just over £10million, and he is followed by Jack Whitehall, Rock Beckett and Michael McIntyre.
Also making it onto the list are John Bishop and Hugh Dennis – with Sarah Millican the only woman to make it, in ninth.
It comes after Peter’s fan were left devastated in April when his Manchester gigs were postponed twice due to the venue, Co-op Live, not being ready.
Peter was meant to take to the stage on April 23 and 24, before venue delays resulted in them being pushed back a week to April 29 and 30.
However the comedian then explained his show’s would be rescheduled for a second time, and would instead go ahead on May 23 and 24.
Announcing the second postponement, the star savagely showcased his wit in the midst of the chaos as the previous dates were crossed out with some hilarious small print added to the bottom right-hand corner.
Alongside the May dates, Peter wrote on his poster with an asterisk: ‘If they actually open the place.’
He confirmed: ‘My apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready and so, as yet, remains untested for a large-scale audience.
‘Consequently, they are having to reschedule my two shows yet again (I know I can’t believe it either).
‘It’s very disappointing but your safety is very important, and I won’t compromise that.’
The plug was pulled on the stand-up gigs because the opening of the brand new Manchester Co-op Live venue ran behind schedule.
The venue was due to open on April 23 and is expected to compete with the 02 Arena for some of the world’s biggest sporting and music events.
But after a slew of issues delaying the opening, Gary Roden, general manager of the venue, quit.
The Black Keys’ new gig date became May 15 and in a statement, Co-op Live also said that there was ‘reassurance’ for fans that dates for US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, real name Julius Dubose, on May 1, and American singer Olivia Rodrigo’s performances on May 3 and 4 would be going ahead.
However, both A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Olivia Rodrigo dates were then postponed.
This was just over an hour before A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was set to perform, with the venue saying that there was a problem during the soundcheck.
But the star savagely showcased his wit in the midst of the chaos. The previous dates were crossed out, and Peter added some hilarious small print to the bottom right-hand corner
Announcing the news in an update on Friday, the comedian confirmed: My apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready’
A component of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system used to direct air had separated from the ductwork, and the installer, contractor and third-party inspector would now have to test each nozzle to confirm they are free from the defect, the Oak View Group said.
Two hours after cancelling A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, the venue then said that Rodrigo’s gigs would not go ahead on May 3 and 4.
Take That said they would be moving their May shows from the Co-op Live to the AO Arena because of ‘ongoing technical issues’ and earlier that day another band, Keane, announced their May 5 gig at the venue had been postponed thanks to issues that were ‘entirely beyond our control’.
The venue said it would be taking ‘a short pause to events at Co-op Live to fully ensure the safety and security of fans and artists visiting the venue’.
Co-op Live finally had live music on May 14 with Elbow opening the new venue as its first headliners.
Peter’s gig finally went ahead later that month, only for the venue to again be thrown into turmoil when Nicki Minaj failed to show up for her performance on May 25 after getting arrested in Amsterdam.
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