- Peter Kay revealed he’s written scenes for a Phoenix Nights revival, but faces challenges with modernising the show
- He is exploring de-ageing technology for flashback scenes but wants it to look convincing
- Kay declined Netflix’s offer to host the show due to issues around including trigger warnings for dated comedy content
Peter Kay has spoken about how he thinks a Phoenix Nights revival could take shape and even confirmed he’s already got to writing it.
In what will undoubtedly be happy news for fans, a return to the 2000s sitcom is not something the Bolton comedian has ruled out.
Set at the fictional labour club Phoenix Nights, the show was beloved for the two years it was on TV and has maintained a cult following in the years since – despite the fact it isn’t readily available to stream.
The 52-year-old comedian, who co-created and starred in the show, has now spoken about how the show could return to screens, with the help of a little bit of modern technology.
Kay appeared on BBC Radio Sheffield for a chat with his Phoenix Nights co-star Toby Foster, who played Les Campbell, and said he had turned to ChatGPT to ask questions about the potential of using de-ageing technology for the scenes he’s written, since there are several flashbacks.
Foster joked, ‘I don’t think we look a day older,’ to which Kay replied: ‘I know you don’t! God, I mean… I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about [using] AI to put hair onto Paddy [McGuinness]’s head, that’s what I’m talking about!’
Foster joked: ‘Nothing’s that good.’
Kay also said he did not want to use makeup to achieve the youthful effect for McGuinness’ character Patrick O-Shea, but said the de-aging process has become marginally less expensive since its highly-publicised use in the 2019 film The Irishman.
The three-hour Netflix epic from Martin Scorsese saw the central mafioso trio, played by Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino, all made decades younger with a few pricey clicks.
Kay continued: ‘I just need to make sure it doesn’t look dodgy, but I’d love to do that.’
Referring to his lead role in the show as club manager Brian Potter, Kay added: ‘I’m alright for Brian because I look older. Can you believe when I did Brian, I was 26?’
It comes after Kay recently said he rejected an offer from Netflix for the show to be added to their platform, citing the need for trigger warnings for dated elements of the comedy.
He told Capital Breakfast: ‘Netflix got in touch with me last year because they wanted to put Phoenix Nights on [the platform]. They rang me up – anyway, they sent me a load of paperwork.’
Speaking to host Sian Welby, he added: ‘Basically, it’s not very politically correct now. This was made in a [different] time, do you know what I mean?’
Considering Netflix’s offer to put a note at the start of each episode, he said: ‘I’m not keen on that, I don’t really want a warning before it.’
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