Peter Kay's back catalogue raided again | Backwards-looking BBC plans MORE tributes

Peter Kay's back catalogue raided again

Backwards-looking BBC plans MORE tributes

The BBC is to air ANOTHER tribute to Peter Kay’s comedy career - this one spanning six half-hour episodes.

Peter Kay’s Comedy Shuffle follows on from BBC One’s Christmas special about the comedian, which was subtitled 20 Years of Funny.

The corporation – which recently signed the comic to star in Car Share and  Cradle To  Grave after his former career with Channel 4 – said the new show will be  a chance to ‘celebrate and re-discover’ Kay’s old work.

Kay has previously been criticised for recycling material on DVD, with his Live At The Manchester Arena release being the same tour as Live At The Bolton Albert Halls title. Also, the 2007 release  Stand Up UKay was a clip compilation of existing DVDs, while 2008’s Special Kay was a rag-tag collection of TV adverts, interviews and guest TV appearances.

His career has also previously been examined on TV with an ‘in conversation’ with Danny Baker for Channel 4 in 2012 and  a two-part special about his Comic Relief Songs, Raider Of The Pop Charts, as well as a documentary about his early years that’s aired on Paramount/Comedy Central.

BBC One controller, Charlotte Moore, said of the new series: ‘Peter Kay is a comic genius that brought such joy to BBC One viewers last year. I’m thrilled that he is bringing his new series to the channel.’

And Kay himself added: ‘I was completely overwhelmed by the response to 20 Years of Funny and I feel honoured that the BBC would like to take a further look back at my career so far. I’m also delighted to still be working after 20 years at a job I still love.’

Yesterday, broadcasters in general and the BBC in particular were criticised for looking backwards  for its comedy programming.

In an <a rhef="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jan/17/tracey-ullman-uk-comeback-tv-comedy-schedules-bbc">article in The Guardian</a> which cited ‘reheating series like Open All Hours or [ITV’s] Birds of a Feather’, comedy producer Charlie Hanson said: ‘I think the BBC is doing less new sitcoms than they used to be. I keep reading about revivals. They are going backwards because they are playing safe.’

The Corporation is planning a major look back at its sitcom legacy later this year to mark 60 years since the first TV broadcast of Hancock’s Half Hour. It has been reported that classic sitcoms such as Porridge, Keeping Up Appearances and The Good Life are likely to return for the Landmark Sitcom season.

Peter Kay’s Comedy Shuffle will also be broadcast on BBC One later in the year.

Published: 19 Jan 2016

Live comedy picks

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.