Peter Kay panics US Netflix bosses after they feared his ad-libbed English phrase in Wallace and Gromit Christmas special was offensive

Peter Kay caused concern among US Netflix bosses after adding an English idiom to the Wallace and Gromit Christmas special that completely went over their heads.

Vengeance Most Fowl marked a major comeback for the animated duo and premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day, marking the comedian’s first TV role in four years.

And using his usual comedic talents and charm, Peter, 51, couldn’t resist improvising some of his lines as Chief Inspector Mackintosh.

The special saw the return of Wallace and Gromit’s nemesis Feathers McGraw – 16 years after their previous adventure together.

And after being watched by a whopping 9 million people in Britain on Christmas Day, the film will be streamed worldwide on Netflix from next week.

But executives at the streamer were reportedly left scratching their heads over one of Peter’s ad-libbed lines and worried that the well-known English phrase was offensive.

The idiom ‘flippin’ Nora’ is often used in the North to express surprise or dismay.

Chief Inspector Mackintosh shouts out the words after criminal penguin Feathers successfully escapes from prison.

But according to The sunNetflix was baffled by it, with Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park telling the publication: ‘Peter ad-libs quite a lot.

‘At one point he is surprised about something and shouts ‘Flippin Nora’. One day we received a note back asking, “Who is Nora and why is she turned?”

As creative director Merlin Crossingham explained, they rushed to explain to executives that it was completely ‘innocent’.

He said: ‘[We had to explain to them that] it’s not rude, it’s not a swear word, it’s a harmless phrase.’

It comes after Nick revealed he had to beg Peter to come out of retirement and appear in the Christmas special.

At the London premiere ahead of the film’s festive release, he revealed how he convinced Peter to join in again after previously starring in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit in 2005.

Nick explained, “I actually wrote to him, I wrote him a letter. It was just to try and get him to do this again, you know, because of how great he was in Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

“We told him we expanded his character more in this one, he has a bigger role in this one.

“He was about to start his massive tour, which we didn’t know about at the time, so he did that while he was doing it, between shows.”

Elaborating on Inspector Mackintosh, the creator added: ‘This was a great opportunity for us to really explore the character, find the comedy of his exasperation and his rather misplaced old-fashioned views on how the police should function.

“So it was just really fun to expand the character with Peter and round it out a little bit.”

Speaking to MailOnline at the event, Merlin revealed that the comedian and actor also “did some ad-libs and some of them made it.”

He gushed, “He has a beautiful choice of words, and that’s what we really drew on, his ability to make it more than just what it says. Peter is especially good at it.’

The highly anticipated feature film saw Gromit’s growing concern as Wallace becomes too dependent on his inventions – which proves justified when Wallace creates a ‘smart leprechaun’ who seems to develop an evil mind of his own.

As events begin to spiral out of control, it’s up to Gromit to put aside his doubts and battle sinister forces, or Wallace may never be able to invent anything again.

But who could be behind such evil actions?! Feathers McGraw has been behind bars all this time and is back with a vengeance.

The villain was last seen in the 1993 Bafta and Academy Award-winning short film The Wrong Pants.

The voice cast also included the return of Ben Whitehead as Wallace, the eccentric, cheese-loving inventor from Northern England who lives with his best friend and loyal dog Gromit.

He stars alongside new cast members Lauren Patel and Reece Shearsmith cameos from Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh and Lenny Henry.

Fans were delighted in 2022 when it was announced that Wallace and Gromit will be back for a feature film for Christmas 2024, more than a decade after their last special, A Matter Of Loaf And Death.

Nick said: ‘I had the idea for a film about garden gnomes going bad for over ten years, but I could never figure out what made them bad.

“I noticed that the most common question I get asked when I meet fans is: Will the penguin Feathers McGraw, Wallace and Gromit’s original antagonist from The Wrong Pants 30 years ago, ever return?

“We enjoyed bringing him back in the cameo role, but now, thirty years later, it felt like the right time. Then it dawned on me: what if Feathers was involved with these gnomes?

“We hope this film will appeal to ‘Gnome Noir’ fans everywhere and that people will be excited to see what Feathers has been up to since The Wrong Pants.”

Co-director Merlin added: ‘While we’re keen to reignite the enthusiasm of our existing fanbase, we also want this film to reach people who have never encountered Wallace and Gromit before.’