'Look at the bloody size of it!' marvels Peter Kay as he runs on stage at the O2. It feels a little disingenuous, because Kay is arguably at the front of a pack of comedians who have been aiming this high from the start. The second part of this fascinating three-part series examines the process behind these startling new comic trajectories. Via a dig around in the BBC's written archive (Frankie Howerd was on 80 guineas a series) and Frank Skinner's brush with pay-related tabloid infamy, we reach the present day.

Comedy historians will probably dub our era The McIntyre Ascendancy. But has edge and artistry been lost as careerism wins the day? Or is it naive to think that stand-up was ever about anything other than a drive towards commercial success? Reassuringly, Mark Thomas is on hand to suggest than comedy has 'fallen for the capitalist concept of endless growth'. But the hyper-competitive Comedy Store bearpit we visit at the end suggests that many young comics still think there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Tonight's first frolic down celebrity lane features a first-love story in hospital. A 12-year-old Jason Manford (Ellis Hollins) attracts female attention while waiting for what he tells them is a brain op (in fact a circumcision). Manford himself plays the boy's father, surgeon and nurse, inviting comparisons with Peter Kay.

The second features the stand-up career born of a terrible one-man show about Al Pacino. Omid Djalili recalls how a tobacconist changed his life, and how he literally fell into comedy. Former EastEnder Ashley Kumar plays the 22-year-old Djalili as an aspiring actor trying to break out of overearnest-theatre-group hell. Fun and sweet-natured if sprinkled with cringe.

Peter Kay makes £4m a year

Accounts out this week show that Peter Kay's two companies, Good Night Vienna Productions - which he co-owns with his wife - and Hussein Traders, hold close to a staggering £21 million.

Peter Kay's 'Road To Salford' for Comedy Masterclass

Peter Kay returned to his roots at the University of Salford yesterday (Wednesday 12 December) when he passed on advice and tips from his hugely successful comedy career to more than 50 performance students.

Review: Peter Kay - In Conversation

This programme was really great to watch. It was funny. Revealing. Insightful. Congenial. And had a nice way of showing us who Peter is as a person, without it seeming too promotional by default.

On paper, Channel 4's Friday-night offering Peter Kay: In Conversation with Danny Baker looked to be one of the week's more random pieces of TV. But what a treat for viewers to enjoy one of the funniest men in Britain chatting away in such a relaxed and open manner. With Peter Kay.

Peter Kay is a notoriously difficult comedian to interview; not that he doesn't have anything to say, quite the opposite, he's voluble and very funny. But it's hard to pin him down when you want a serious answer. I know, because I have tried. He's great company, though.

Judging by some online audience reviews - In Conversation was filmed at the Blackpool Opera House last month - disgruntled fans didn't think interviewer Danny Baker got near the real Kay. But maybe it's best to judge for ourselves. During their chat Kay talks about how he does what he does, both on stage with his record-breaking gigs, and in TV shows Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere.

For all his gifts as a broadcaster (many of them apparently ignored by the BBC), perhaps Danny Baker is most unappreciated as an interviewer. But Peter Kay is a tough assignment, his tendency to deflect serious enquiry with easy gaggery having defeated many inquisitioners. This hour-long special, filmed at the Blackpool Opera House in November, will reveal who wins this particular tussle. Channel 4 promises that it will shed light on Kay's creative process both for his TV work and live shows, both seemingly raking in ever more money from audiences being fed ever-multiplying coils of old rope. More likely is that it'll showcase the erstwhile Brian Potter's chummy persona. Just as long as there's no Amarillo...

Peter Kay has made a successful career out of such observational comedy series as as Phoenix Nights and Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere. Tonight he talks to Danny Baker about the creative process behind his work, which has led him to win multiple awards. His Tour That Didn't Tour sold over 1.2 million tickets, and entered the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest stand-up comedy tour in the world. He'll also be chatting about his plans for the future.