PETER Kay is to host the Royal Variety Show — for the second time in two years.

The Bolton comedian will present the star-studded evening at The Lowry Theatre in Salford in front of the Queen on Monday, December 5.

He hosted the evening in 2009 when it came to the Opera House in Blackpool and says to be asked again is a great honour.

Speaking exclusively to The Bolton News, Peter said: “I am made up to be hosting it again. To do it once was amazing, but to be asked back to do it again is mind-blowing.

“I have been told this is the last one that the Queen will be attending, so it is even more special for me.”

Wolverine and Van Helsing star Hugh Jackman will be one of the stars on the bill.

Peter will be busy in the last few months of 2011.

On Tuesday, September 27, he begins a final run of his sellout live show at the MEN Arena.

And he has announced that the final night of record-breaking The Tour That Doesn’t Tour Tour will be an extra date on Saturday, October 22, from which all the proceeds will go to The Christie cancer hospital.

Tickets, priced at £35, go on sale on Sunday at 10am.

Peter said: “It’s a lovely way of raising money, playing a show so close to home, and a nice way of ending the tour, which has been great fun.”

The tour began in Manchester in April last year and was Peter’s first live tour for seven years. This time, though, instead of a marathon run of consecutive dates, he has travelled around the country, with breaks in between.

“It has been better doing the tour with breaks in between, as I have felt fresher and I have been able to tweak the material as I went along. You can’t always do that,” he said.

“This has given me the chance to be more objective and add stuff or change it or just to talk about things that have been in the news.

“I haven’t really noticed how different the show is from last year, but people who have seen it recently and at the beginning say there is quite a lot of change.”

Peter, who will be appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show on ITV1 tonight, broke records when all 200,000 tickets for his four-week residency in Manchester sold out in minutes. Since then he has entertained more than three-quarters of a million people.

Last year, Eighties pop star Rick Astley joined him for some of the shows and although other engagements mean he will not be at all the upcoming Manchester shows, he is expected to perform for the last week of the final run and on the charity evening.

Peter has spent much of this year editing a film of the tour, which was captured over five nights when he performed at the O2 Arena in London.

That is due to be released on November 7 on DVD and Blu-ray formats.

Meanwhile, a new book — in the style of an annual/ scrapbook — is out on sale now.

In The Book…That’s More Than Just A Book — Book, Peter has taken much of his stand-up material from over the years and embellished it with more detail and stories, along with cartoons and photographs.

He said: “A lot of work has gone into it and I am pleased with how it has turned out. I transcribed my show and then added a load more material about characters that people who have seen my shows will be familiar with.”

● To book tickets for the charity evening on October 22, call 0844 847 8000, or visit men-arena.com.