Peter Kay

Being on this list on the strength of only one proper episode tells you how beloved Kay's confined sitcom is, and how deflated we were when it supposedly ended in 2017 with a stubbornly downbeat finale. That problem was fixed completely by the new, extra, proper ending, which at last saw co-workers John (Kay) and Kayleigh (Sian Gibson) fall in love. An improvised bonus instalment showed off the natural, unscriptable chemistry between Kay and Gibson - which is what made us fall in love with the show in the first place.

Peter Kay's comedy success has earned him £32 million

I can disclose that the star, who worked in a bingo hall as well as a factory manufacturing loo rolls, has amassed a staggering £32 million fortune.

Dave Spikey admits he's gutted Phoenix Nights ended

The pair didn't speak for a decade after Dave accused Peter of taking all the credit for the show's success.

XS Malarkey club turns 21

The Manchester comedy club that hosted early performances from Peter Kay, Alan Carr and Jason Manford turns 21 years old.

The 30 best living comedians

In the run-up to the Edinburgh Festival our comedy critic Dominic Maxwell ranks the funniest comics working now.

How the car-cam became comedy's favourite vehicle

From James Corden and Peter Kay to Jerry Seinfeld, comedians are using the cheap and simple device to make lucrative TV.

Stars like Peter Kay want invisibility not privacy

Stars can get away with dodging publicity - but where will it end, asks Mark Lawson.

Peter Kay's Car Share ended with just - just - enough grit to redeem it from wholesale mawkishness. Sight gags - a billboard for C4's forthcoming My Big Fat Undateable Bake Off - and local radio trickles ("Forever FM... get in touch with your favourite bubble-wrap memories...") helped, and Kay and Sian Gibson gelled as ever, but you wonder whether both aren't just a little glad to get shot of it, after an unsuccessful (worse, just unfunny) improvised recent episode for which they got pelters on (sigh) social media. It'll still be hailed as something of a delight in reminding us of the glories that can be found in the dullest of routine lives, but I hadn't quite remembered the relative grubbiness of some of the gags. Then again, life - the idea of human perfection being, remember, preposterous - is mostly grubby. Amen to that.