Peter Kay brought his This Morning interview to a halt after picking up on Cat Deeley’s habit of constantly replying “yes” and “yeah” during their conversation.
The 52-year-old comedian was talking about how his Better Late Than Never tour is raising money for cancer charities when he suddenly paused mid-sentence. As he listed beneficiaries — stopping after mentioning Bowel Cancer UK — Kay glanced at Deeley, burst out laughing and pointed out her repetitive interjections.
“I’m not laughing at bowel cancer — it’s because she keeps saying ‘yeah’,” he explained, chuckling.
A flustered Deeley laughed awkwardly and briefly turned away from the camera, while co-host Ben Shephard jumped in to defend her, saying: “It’s called active listening. My wife does it — and it drives me mad.”
Kay brushed off the moment with his trademark humour, joking: “Well, if you’ve got any issues with that and you want to ring up…?” before carrying on with his list.
He was on the ITV sofa to announce that all proceeds from the final dates of his hit tour will go directly to cancer charities, with twelve organisations set to benefit from the upcoming Better Late Than Never Again shows.
He listed beneficiaries including Children with Cancer UK, Teenage Cancer Trust, Kidney Cancer UK and Blood Cancer UK. Deeley continued to respond to each charity with small affirmative sounds, drawing further attention to the on-air habit.
The charitable announcement formed part of Kay’s promotional appearances ahead of tickets going on sale on November 30.
His tour extension adds 81 dates across the UK and Ireland between February 2025 and February 2026.
Mr Kay had previously discussed the donations on The One Show, noting that “everybody knows someone who’s been affected” by cancer.
Social media users were quick to weigh in on the uncomfortable exchange between the comedian and the presenter, with many viewers delighted that the on-air habit had finally been called out.
“One hundred percent overdue! Peter Kay finally pointing out Cat Deeley’s constant ‘yep… yeah… uh huh’ while someone’s talking,” one person wrote. Another added: “Not Peter Kay giving Cat the look to make her stop with the ‘yep, yeah, uh huh’. Long overdue… and rumours say Holly might be coming back… #ThisMorning.”
Plenty also used the moment to praise Kay himself. “Peter Kay is a national treasure. Greetings from Ireland,” one viewer posted, while someone else added: “Peter Kay doing what he does best — absolutely hilarious.”
Many said they’d been noticing Deeley’s verbal interruptions for a while and seemed relieved a guest had finally addressed what they considered an irritating on-screen habit.
The moment even sparked a wider debate about presenting styles on daytime TV.
Later in the interview, another awkward exchange unfolded when Deeley attempted to segue into a story about Billy Joel. She asked, “Can we talk about Billy Joel?” before launching straight into the details: “Because weren’t you in Ireland and you went to see him — and was it your dad who’s a massive Billy Joel fan?”
Kay cut in with a pointed remark: “Why don’t you just tell it? There’s literally nothing left for me to say now.”
Shephard chimed in: “She always does this.” Deeley, laughing, protested: “No, I didn’t give away the big bit!”
This wasn’t the first time Peter Kay has made headlines this year.
Back in September, he opened up about his lifelong battle with weight, admitting he had “tried everything… Slimming World, Weight Watchers — all of them.”
During an appearance with Sara Cox, he said willpower had always been his biggest hurdle, even recalling a moment during a cinema trip:
“I bought a hot dog… I thought, look at you — what are you doing? I threw it in the bin — and just as it was about to hit the binliner, I grabbed it and still ate it.”
Kay also reflected on how his upbringing shaped his relationship with food:
“My mum used to bring pies into primary school for me… She’s obsessed with people being overweight. She’d hide the biscuits… I’d reach inside the tumble dryer and pull out a packet of digestives.”