Sian Gibson tells the Radio Times talks about Peter Kay and Car Share

Sian Gibson stars alongside the funnyman as Kayleigh Kitson in the comedy and also helped to co-write it.

The pair knew each other from their time at Salford University and she was working at a call centre when her old friend sent her the first script.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Gibson described how she had quit acting, had a baby and was working in the call centre but had stayed in touch with the Phoenix Nights Star.

The character of Kayleigh had been loosely based on her and Peter then started visiting Gibson to ask for advice on the script and this led to her helping to write the whole project.

The show was filmed in 2013 and was launched on the BBC iPlayer in 2015 but Gibson was not impressed.

She told the Radio Times: "When I first saw it, I thought I was dreadful – I was worried that I had just ruined Peter Kay’s career.”

Fortunately, not many other people did and it became the most watched series to be released as a box set on the iPlayer.

Both series were adored by fans and critics alike and the show won best comedy at the 2016 National Television Awards as well as BAFTA TV Awards for best male comedy performance and best scripted comedy.

Gibson said: "Even Peter was surprised at how everyone responded to it. I was back working part-time, then it came out and straight away I got an agent and it’s like I’ve got two different lives.”

Gibson, who also appeared in That Peter Kay Thing and Phoenix Nights, will be appearing in the new comedy drama Murder on the Blackpool Express on Gold alongside Johnny Vegas.

Speaking of her friendship of Peter, she said: “He’s my model for success. I still find it really strange that he’s got all the hype because he’s just the same now as he’s always been. Obviously, he knows how famous he is, he doesn’t do Facebook and keeps himself very private, but when we hang out we do the same things we’ve always done. I listen to him a lot, he’s annoyingly right.”