Peter Kay left US Netflix chiefs worried his phrase “Flippin’ Nora” used in the Christmas ‘Wallace and Gromit’ film was rude.
Peter Kay left US Netflix chiefs worried his phrase “Flippin’ Nora” used in the Christmas ‘Wallace and Gromit’ film was rude
The comic, 51, appeared as Chief Inspector Mackintosh in the special – which marked his first TV role in four years – and his character shouts the phrase as penguin villain Feathers McGraw escaped in ‘Vengeance Most Fowl’, watched by nine million people on BBC1 on 25 December before it is set to be streamed on Netflix.
‘Wallace and Gromit’ creator Nick Park was quoted by The Sun saying: “Peter ad-libs quite a lot. At one point he’s astonished at something and shouts ‘Flippin Nora’.
“One day we did get a note back to ask, ‘Who is Nora and why is she being flipped?’”
The show’s creative director Merlin Crossingham was also quoted by the newspaper saying the team then had to explain to the Americans it was a well-known and harmless British phrase.
He added they told them: “It's not rude, it’s not an expletive, it’s an innocent turn of phrase.”
Peter has previously puzzled US audiences – apologising for jokes about car-boot sales and British celebrities at the end of a 2009 stand-up show in LA.
He told the audience: “I’m sorry if you found that hard to understand but there was comedy in there somewhere.”
Peter pulled his tour in 2017 to take a break from the limelight and was last seen on TV in 2020’s ‘Car Share’ alongside Sian Gibson.
He played supermarket assistant manager John Redmond, with Sian as checkout girl Kayleigh Kitson.
The first series was filmed in and around Peter’s native Bolton, as well as Manchester.
It won Best Comedy at the 2016, 2018 and 2019 National Television Awards, and the BAFTA TV Awards for Best Male Comedy Performance and Best Scripted Comedy at the 2016 BAFTA TV Awards.
The series came to an end in May 2018 when two special episodes broadcast on 7 and 28 May.