Peter Kay is in talks with the BBC for a new project.
The 46-year-old comedian was forced to cancel his first stand-up tour in eight years and take a break from work last December, "due to unforeseen family circumstances", with his last appearance on screen being the finale episode of ‘Car Share’ in May last year.
But now it’s being reported that he’s held discussions with the broadcaster for something new to "fill the void" left by the sitcom.
An insider told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column: "A conversation has been had between Peter and the BBC.
"There is no rush and whatever happens will always be dictated by Peter but a new project has been discussed.
"It’s exciting news for Peter’s fans, who have yet to see the void left by ‘Car Share’ filled."
Peter worked on the show with Sian Gibson, who teased this year that the door is open for the hilarious series to return.
She said: "We left it open — maybe, maybe not."
Meanwhile, last November, she teased that the pair are working on a new TV show.
She said: "I was with Peter the other day and we have got something in the pipeline. There are things to think about."
‘Car Share’ originally ended when Sian’s character Kayleigh walked out on Peter’s John, prompting upset fans to organise a petition for another ending, which was signed by over 100,000 people.
As a result, two more episodes were broadcast, ending with the duo driving off together in a bus, and Sian admitted she liked the updated finale.
She said: "That was the final, final one. I liked the conclusion because they got a happy ending."
Peter previously admitted he was shocked when the petition was created and admitted it was "incredibly flattering" to see the support for the show – while Sian confessed she’d put her name to the letter more than once.
He said: "You’d never believe that it’d ever have that kind of effect. A petition."
Sian added: "Yes, that was crazy. I signed it … twice."
Peter said: "That is incredibly flattering. We always knew the second series would end that way and we thought people might be a bit miffed but never thought they would be so devastated.
"We decided to write another episode that hopefully gave the characters a resolve and I thought lets hold this back until the repeat of the second series.
"It was hard to keep it a secret after the reaction we got, but we never said that there wouldn’t be any more ‘Car Share’ … we just said there wouldn’t be a third series."