Fans have shared warm wishes for comedian Peter Kay after he cancelled his first live tour in eight years due to “unforeseen family circumstances”.

The hotly-anticipated string of UK and Ireland dates stretching across 2018 and 2019 had been due to kick off in Birmingham in April.

In a statement shared on Twitter on Wednesday, Kay announced he would be dropping all upcoming live projects, including his Dance For Life charity shows.

As he shared his “sincerest apologies”, his words were met with a wave of support from followers.

One commented: “Omg wishing you and your family well. It’s quite right to put your family first xx.”

Another added sympathetically: “Peter, people will understand don’t worry! Family life is more important than anything… Hope the reason for the cancelation gets better… big HUGS coming to your family!!!”

One person responded: “Gutting news for anyone who bought Peter Kay tickets. More importantly it sounds like something serious has occurred though. Hope him and his family are all okay. Top comedian.”

While many others said they were similarly “gutted” and some aired their disappointment over Twitter, one person commented: “So sad that Peter Kay has had to cancel his tour. Family always comes first and people need to realise that.”

Another said: “No need to be sorry. Family always comes first!”

The news comes just weeks after Kay tripled his original tour line-up due to popular demand, extending the original 26-gig schedule to more that 80 dates across cities.

Earlier in the year he also announced an intimate one-off charity gig in Blackpool in aid of Children In Need.

Kay’s statement promised refunds for all arena tour and Dance For Life tickets and advised customers to contact their point of purchase with queries.