Peter Kay has confessed to once causing havoc at a music legend’s mansion and creating thousands of pounds’ worth of damage… with a paddling pool.
The Farnworth-born comedian and actor became good pals with Eric Clapton after meeting the guitar hero backstage at a gig.
Clapton, now 80, was so fond of Kay, 52, in fact, that he invited him to stay at his house, a decision he may have later regretted.
Kay and his family (he has been married to Susan Gargan since 2001, and they have a teenage son) made the trip to Provence in France, where Clapton owns a 16-bed abode, complete with an outdoor pool.
However, the regular pool was too cold for Kay, so he popped to the shops to buy an inflatable one instead.
He blew it up on the patio and filled it with warm water, bathing in the paddling pool while ‘sipping Baileys and watching Only Fools and Horses on a giant screen through the French doors’, living the dream.
Disaster struck, though, when it came to deflating the pool.
Detailing the incident in his new book, Peter Kay’s Diary, in quotes obtained by The Sun, Kay writes that he found dye from Clapton’s Versace towels in the famous black and gold colours had stained the expensive sandstone patio tiles, having placed them underneath to soak up excess water.
‘I grabbed a few scourers from the kitchen, some Fairy Liquid, and we all started scrubbing, but nothing was lifting,’ Kay recalls.
‘I pegged it back to the supermarché and bought some steel-wire brushes, industrial floor cleaner, and a rake.’
But the calamity didn’t cease there, as the stand-up star then managed to flood Clapton’s flowerbed with water.
Panicking, Kay called up Clapton and insisted he would buy him new plants and pay to have his patio power-washed to tidy up his mess.
As for the singer’s reaction, Kay shares: ‘He was puzzled as to why I’d bought a paddling pool in the first place.
‘I told him his pool was freezing.
‘He said, “But why didn’t you just turn on the pool heating?”
‘It has heating. No b*gger told me.’
Kay’s confession comes after he was forced to reschedule two of his tour dates due to undergoing surgery, having been out on the road since late 2022 after announcing his long-awaited comeback.
Titled Better Late Than Never, the tour marks Kay’s first stand-up tour in 12 years and was a huge hit right from the start when he promised to match ticket prices of his 2010 tour, which sold for £35, to aid with the cost of living crisis.
The comic has performed to sold-out crowds up and down the country, but fans hoping to catch him in action in Nottingham were left disappointed when a statement was released last week.
Writing on X, Kay shared: ‘We regret to inform you that due to a routine kidney stone procedure, Peter will be unable to perform his scheduled shows at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena on Sunday 5th October and Monday 6th October.’
The statement continued: ‘Following medical advice, Peter will be taking a period of time to rest and recover.
‘All tickets remain valid for the new dates. If you are unable to attend, refunds will be available from your point of purchase.’
The show slated for October 5 has been moved to December 11, and October 6’s gig has been moved to December 12.
Understanding fans inundated Kay with get-well wishes, with the Phoenix Nights star also talking about his health struggles and kidney stones in his new memoir.
Opening up about his ordeal with kidney stones, Kay described the excruciating ‘throbbing’ pain he previously endured, prompting him to seek medical help.
‘I didn’t feel well at all, so I did what anybody would do in the situation—I looked up my symptoms with Dr Google. It was looking like a kidney stone,’ he pens.
‘Fast forward 24 hours, and my suspicions were confirmed via a CT scan at the local hospital. It turned out I had a big stone blocking the exit of my right kidney.’
A doctor informed Kay that he required immediate surgery to remove the stone, which also involved him ‘having a stent fitted up [his] urethra’.
‘Kidney stone pain is legendary, and I was starting to sob and make the occasional high-pitched whining sound,’ Kay said of the experience, adding: ‘Like when you fire an air rifle at a dog’s testicles.’
But the Car Share star’s ‘world collapsed’ when the reality of the procedure sank in: ‘Oh my God, he means he’s going in through the hole at the end of my penis.
‘My world collapsed. Red lights flashed in my head. He can’t go up there—it’s out of bounds, private land. Area 51. A camera won’t fit up there, let alone one carrying a laser. Was this guy on glue?’
Thankfully, the procedure went without a hitch and the stone was removed, but not without leaving Kay ‘weeping’ once the anaesthesia wore off.
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