Peter Kay wants to use 'de-aging' technology to revive Phoenix Nights
Peter Kay wants to use "de-aging" technology to revive his cult TV show Phoenix Nights - insisting he will need to use AI to "put hair" back onto Paddy McGuinness' head.
Peter Kay wants to use "de-aging" technology to revive his cult TV show Phoenix Nights.
The comedian's comedy series - about a working men's club in the town of Bolton - ran for two seasons between 2001 and 2002 and spawned a spin-off show called Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere which aired in 2004. Kay is now toying with the idea of making a film version but he wants to use AI to make the cast look younger, joking he will need to use the technology to "put hair" back onto co-star Paddy McGuinness' head.
Speaking to his former co-star Toby Foster - who played backing musician Les Campbell in Phoenix Nights - on his BBC Sheffield radio show, Kay explained: "Honestly I went on this chat GPT and I’ve asked a lot of questions about de-aging because what I’ve written there’s a lot of flashbacks.”
Foster then joked: "I don’t think we look a day older!" and 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’s head, that’s what I’m talking about!"
The comedian went on to explain: "I thought, you know I don’t want to do make-up.
"So I’ve been looking and obviously they did that film The Irishman with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci and they made them all look younger and Al Pacino, but that was seven years ago.
"It’s got cheaper now, but as I’m just looking into it, it’s become a bit more like not as expensive. So I thought I just need to make sure it doesn’t look dodgy, but I’d love to do that."
Kay played several characters in the show - including bouncer Max and nightclub owner Brian - and the comedian joked he wouldn't need AI to reprise the role of Brian because he was already an old man.
He said: "I mean I’m all right for Brian because I look older. Can you believe when I did Brian I was 26?"
Kay previously revealed his plans for a Phoenix Nights film during an appearance on Capital Breakfast last month, confirming the movie is "written and it’s done".
He also explained why he didn't agree to give Netflix the rights to stream Phoenix Nights - admitting bosses at the streaming giant even sent him an air fryer as a gift in a bid to tempt him into agreeing to the deal.
Kay said: "I got [an air fryer] free from Netflix. They got in touch with me last year because they wanted to put Phoenix Nights on Netflix.
"They rang me up and said: 'Can we license some of your shows to put on Netflix?’ Anyway, they sent me a load of paperwork. Basically, it’s not very politically correct now. This was made in a time, do you know what I mean?"
Kay explained the show would need to be aired with a trigger warning about the content and the creator wasn't happy about it. He added: "I just said: 'I’m not keen on that, I don’t really want a warning before it.’
"So, I just said: 'No, I’ll leave it.’ Anyway, they sent me an air fryer. I think that was trying to sweeten me."
