Britain’s much-loved comedian Peter Kay has confirmed he will add a final run of arena dates to his hugely successful Better Late Than Never tour — and revealed a powerful reason behind the decision.
Speaking on The One Show, the Bolton-born star, 52, announced that when the tour wraps up next year, every penny of profit from the remaining performances will be donated to 12 leading cancer charities.
“It’s finishing next year, and I am announcing the last lot of shows, but all the profits are going to cancer charities,” Kay told viewers, in a moment that quickly sent waves of admiration through the studio audience.
The final leg will see him perform across Newcastle, Nottingham, Glasgow, Dublin, Birmingham, Belfast, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and London, marking the end of an era for the comic who became a household name in the early 2000s with Phoenix Nights and later Peter Kay’s Car Share.
The charities set to benefit include:
Children With Cancer UK, Teenage Cancer Trust, Kidney Cancer UK, Blood Cancer UK, Bowel Cancer UK, Prostate Cancer UK, DKMS UK, Ovarian Cancer Action, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Anthony Nolan, The Brain Tumour Charity and Breast Cancer UK.
Kay added: “Unfortunately, everybody knows someone who’s been affected on that list, and I just hope people support it. Come to the shows. That’s why I’m here.”
Cancer charities have since expressed their heartfelt gratitude.
Rachel Calderon, deputy director of fundraising at Blood Cancer UK, said the community was “genuinely chuffed and deeply grateful” that Kay had chosen to support them through ticket sales, adding that every pound raised would help fund life-saving research and support people affected by leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
Seren Evans, senior head of mass fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, revealed staff were huge fans of the comic and thrilled to be part of his final arena run, noting that the funds will drive “game-changing research, lifesaving campaigning and vital support services for men living with and beyond prostate cancer.”
Meanwhile, Nicky Read, chief of fundraising at Anthony Nolan, said: “Peter’s shows bring enormous joy to so many, and it’s wonderful that they will now also bring hope and life-saving opportunities to people who really need them.”
She added that the funds will help add new lifesavers to the donor register, support post-transplant nurses and push forward groundbreaking research.
Tickets for the newly announced shows go on sale Sunday, 30 November at 10am.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
