Peter Kay was not in attendance at Tuesday’s National Television Awards, despite claims to the contrary that he would be.

The comedian has been out of the spotlight in recent times, after cancelling his comedy tour in December 2017 due to “unforeseen family circumstances”. 

Peter’s only appearance since then was at a charity screening of his sitcom ‘Car Share’ in April last year. 

However, Chris Evans got fans’ hopes up on his Virgin Radio on Tuesday, when he said: “Peter Kay, He’s not a mate, but I know him. I know he’s been getting better and he’s coming back and he may well be back on telly tonight. Back for the NTAs.”

As it turned out, Peter was not there to see his sitcom ‘Car Share’ win Best Comedy at the ceremony for a second year running.  

Instead, it was up to his co-star Sian Gibson to give an acceptance speech, in which she claimed he “couldn’t be there” and would bring the award over to his the next day. 

Two final episodes of the hit BBC sitcom aired last year due to overwhelming demand. 

Peter had originally ended the show in 2017, but fans called for a conclusion to the love story between lead characters John and Kayleigh, prompting him to film one final episode with the addition of an improvised special, which he and Sian did not have scripts for. 

In a statement he released at the time of calling off his tour, Peter said his “family must always come first” and that he “deeply regretted” the decision to cancel all upcoming work projects.

He continued: “My sincerest apologies. This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first.

“I’ve always endeavoured to protect my family’s privacy from the media. I hope that the media and the public will continue to respect our privacy at this time. Once again, I’m very sorry.”

Peter is yet to reschedule any of his planned tour.