Stage set for Peter Kay to front royal show

PETER Kay has been named as the host of this year’s Royal Variety Performance.

The Bolton comedian will front the show at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester with the Princess Royal in attendance.

Acts include veteran crooner Tony Bennett, singers Barry Manilow and Cee Lo Green and comic Jason Manford.

Others stars set to appear include singer Pixie Lott, Britain’s Got Talent winner Jai McDowall and magicians Penn and Teller.

The show, which takes place on 5 December, will be shown on ITV1 later next month.

Laurie Mansfield, life president of the Entertainment Artistes’ Benevolent Fund, which benefits from money raised on the night, said: “The greatest artistes in entertainment have always featured on the Royal Variety Performance and this year is no exception, as the biggest acts in the world unite for one night only.”

Last year’s performance was overshadowed when a car carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall was mobbed during protests in central London against higher university tuition fees.