Peter Kay delighted fans as he made a rare public appearance at a charity screening for his comedy series Car Share.

The comedian, who cancelled his live tour due to “unforeseen family circumstances” in December, took to the stage at the Blackpool Opera House on Saturday evening.

Fans at the event – held to air the final ever episode of Car Share as well as an unscripted version – shared pictures of Kay on the stage and expressed their joy to see him.

One fan tweeted: “#PeterKaysCarShare fantastic last episode, and Peter Kay arrived on stage, what a brilliant night #hedgehog a great duo @Sianygibby @peterkay_co_uk.”

Asked if he made a speech, the fan replied that it was “just a small one” to thank people for supporting the charity The Lily Foundation, and “not to let out any spoilers”.

Another attendee wrote: “Amazing night at @WGBpl to see the final ever episode of @peterkay_co_uk Car Share! He even made an appearance on stage for us all.”

One said the Car Share unscripted episode was “pure genius” and added that it was “a joy to see Peter on stage tonight”.

“Absolutely loved it and the man himself stepping on stage abs blew us away #emotional,” another wrote.

Kay recently announced there would be three charity screenings of his popular BBC comedy programme at the Blackpool venue, each one airing a special finale to the series as well as an entirely improvised episode.

The second series of the Bafta-winning show ended on an emotional cliffhanger last year as John (Kay) failed to reciprocate the advances of his car share colleague Kayleigh (Sian Gibson).

Viewers were dismayed when he said there were no plans to pen a further series.

But the comic later announced special episodes – a special finale to reveal what happens next for the pair and the improvised Car Share: Unscripted.

Both hotly-anticipated shows, Unscripted and the finale, were filmed last year.

The screenings were held to raise money for The Lily Foundation, which Kay previously described as “an inspiring charity that helps to improve the lives of children with Mitochondrial Disease.”

The screenings were initially announced on March 29 in what was the 44-year-old comedian’s first Twitter post since cancelling his live tour in December.

He said in a statement the cancellation was due to “unforeseen family circumstances”.

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