Stand-up comedian Peter Kay and his wife Susan Gargan had a honeymoon they’ll never forget but, sadly, for all the wrong reasons as the star reveals in his new book
Peter Kay has revealed his honeymoon with his beloved wife was “ruined” as it coincided with the 9/11 terror attacks – turning their resort into a joyless place.
The comedian has written a new book in the form of a diary with stories and anecdotes for each month.
And writing about September, the Phoenix Nights creator also recalls his honeymoon disaster, as he and wife Susan were married just a few days before the September 11 attacks in 2001 and were in Mexico when the disaster unfolded.
Kay thought it was a movie when he first saw the twin towers on fire on TV before the realisation hit and the holiday resort took on an eerie state.
Kay writes: “The whole resort was flung into grief, as you’d expect. We really wanted to go back home, but thousands of planes were grounded. It was an unprecedented move to thwart any further attacks from hijacked planes.
“That backlog lasted for weeks. We tried calling home, but queues for any public phones were huge, mainly Americans calling family and friends.
“The feeling was eerie. All joy evaporated. All music stopped. It was a surreal juxtaposition; we were in such idyllic surroundings while all this tragedy was happening. We tried to continue with normal holiday activities, but we felt guilty.”
Kay said the world changed for years afterwards and when children came into their lives he tried to shield his young kids from 9/11 and would change TV channel if a programme came on mentioning it as there was no real explanation for what happened.
He added: “Sometimes the world can be a horrible place, and it ruined our honeymoon. We got back home six days later than scheduled. We were so grateful to get a flight back. We’d been waiting in a packed airport in Cancun for seven hours.
“I’ll never forget the passengers clapped and cheered when we landed in Manchester. Such a relief to be back on terra firma, though no one would feel safe for a long time to come. F**king Al-Qaeda.”
Elsewhere in the book, Kay also details how he needed emergency surgery in recent years after a kidney stone left him in agony.
He recounted the events in comedy fashion, before writing: “It was painful and unpleasant and a dreadful experience I never wish to repeat. Ever!”
*Peter Kay’s Diary is published by Harper Collins and is out tomorrow(Thursday).
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