Is Peter Kay losing his edge when it comes to dealing with hecklers?
Clips of the Bolton comic’s previous dealings with catcalling suggest the now 51-year-old once appeared to enjoy a verbal sparring with those who tried to engage with him during live performances.
But the 51-year-old has sparked a fresh debate over how comedians deal with badgering from the audience after he ejected three punters from a show in Manchester at the weekend in a matter of seconds.
Warehouse driver Philip Peters, 54, and his 26-year-old son were thrown out after Mr Peters, a lifelong fan, shouted ‘garlic bread’ several times from the crowd – while Myar Curran, 25, was kicked out moments later as she shouted ‘we love you Peter’.
Kay’s £27million-grossing Better Late Than Never tour is the comedian’s first live tour in over a decade and has been running for almost three years.
Saturday’s incidents at the AO Arena were the second and third times on the tour the comedian says he had ‘no choice’ but to throw out attendees. And he has been defended by fans and fellow comics, including Jason Manford.
But a compilation of clips lifted from Live and Back on Nights, a DVD looking back at his record-breaking roadshow 2010-2011 The Tour That Didn’t Tour Tour…Now On Tour, suggests Kay’s handling of hecklers has changed over the years.
It opens with a short segment in which Kay says: ‘When people heckle, they shout stuff out and you just go off in a different direction. And sometimes that’s the magic, that’s the spontaneity right there.’
Archived clips of Peter Kay’s 2010-11 stand-up tour show him tackling hecklers with relish
The comedian appears to have made a marked shift in how he deals with hecklers – with three people ejected from his show in Manchester on Saturday for catcalling
The comedian has lost a huge amount of weight in recent years while embarking on his Better Late Than Never national tour
The selection sees Kay appear to relish the challenge of taking on catcallers from the audience, including a woman who interrupts an anecdote about a trip to Gran Canaria to ask him if it had been raining.
He replies: ‘You pick your moments don’t you? I were in Gran Canaria, it weren’t raining.’
To laughter, he adds: ‘What possessed you? We’re all shocked, all of us. Are you on glue?’
Another interaction, in Cardiff, sees him trying to speak to one heckler, as another woman whoops from an upper circle seat.
Kay, without breaking a sweat, chirps: ‘Oh, you see, you’ve opened a thing now. They all shout… I didn’t ask any of you. See when I pointed that way and said ‘her’, I didn’t point that (your) way, did I?’
As the woman continues calling from above he fires back: ‘Can someone help her? She’s doing it again. And again. I’ll try to work my material in between those ‘whoos’. Like a truck reversing.’
And as a man elsewhere in the audience tries to interrupt, he shouts out, eyes wide: ‘Not you, d*******! Are you a woman? No, you’re a man! Shut your mouth!’
He then turns calmly to the original heckler: ‘Go on love, sorry, what were you saying?’ – before giving the V-sign to the woman hooting from the upper circle.
A clearly amused Kay then invites the original heckler to the front of the stage, pointing his microphone at her – only for her to say: ‘It’s the vodka’.
‘Is that all it were?’ Kay asks, before she notes that he is wearing makeup.
Clips from Kay’s behind the scenes DVD, Live and Back on Nights, show him tackling hecklers with a grin on his face
One hilarious moment in Cardiff saw him bring an audience member down to the front so she could speak into the microphone
Kay appeared to enjoy interactions with the audience earlier in his career (pictured in his hometown of Bolton in 2000)
He rose to fame throughout the 2000s, appearing in Channel 4 sitcom Phoenix Nights and spin-off Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere alongside Paddy McGuinness (pictured)
‘Of course I’ve got make-up on, turn around, look at those lights up there. If I didn’t have make-up on I’d look like a ghost,’ he chuckles.
He adds: ‘Are you having that vodka intravenously?’
Another heckler in Birmingham got both barrels from Kay after shouting out as the comic took a sip of water.
‘He’s on his a*** isn’t he? Every time there’s a gap he’s in with a wacky catchphrase. Here’s one: f*** off,’ Kay fires back, giving him a rude gesture.
In London, Kay was startled by a rumbling noise akin to thunder while on stage. As he looks around for the source, a heckler calls out: ‘You dropped your wallet!’
‘Dropped me wallet? Cheeky b******,’ Kay retorts, chuckling, as he adds: ‘You’ve dropped your wallet! That’s staying in.’
And as a woman from a Liverpool show yelled for a full seven seconds, Kay cooly shook his head to laughter as he said: ‘I have not got a f****** clue.’
‘I don’t know whether it were a girl or a mini rocket. We all heard it though didn’t we? And it went on a little bit too long, didn’t it? A little bit eerily too long, didn’t it?
‘And between me and you, I hope it don’t happen again.’
Kay appears to have less time for hecklers on his latest record-breaking run, the £27million-grossing Better Late Than Never tour, which first began in 2022 after Kay’s five-year hiatus from mainstream comedy touring.
He took a break from live performances in 2017 after cancelling a planned run of shows, citing ‘unforeseen family circumstances’.
Philip Peters, 54, was removed from Kay’s Manchester gig on Saturday by security. He claims he was left with bruises after shouting ‘garlic bread’ at the comic
Myar Curran, 25, (pictured) was kicked out of Peter Kay’s show in Manchester where he compared her to Lisa Riley
Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley, who Kay compared Ms Curran to as she was removed from his gig
Peter Kay seen backstage at the O2 with musician Brian Edery in 2023 – prompting comments on his dramatic weight loss
Kay said in a statement at the time: ‘My sincerest apologies. This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first.
‘I’ve always endeavoured to protect my family’s privacy from the media. I hope that the media and the public will continue to respect our privacy at this time. Once again I’m very sorry.’
He had intended to stage a comeback with his Dance For Life charity dance-a-thons in 2020 – but these were halted as coronavirus gripped the globe.
He would later host two charity shows in Manchester in 2021, and a host of Dance for Life events in 2022, before embarking on a tour of his own once again.
A show in January 2023, early in the tour, saw Kay halt the show to have a catcaller kicked out at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena.
Reporting at the time of videos which have never been made public suggest Kay said: ‘Oh it’s kicking off. He’s a bit of an a***hole, he’s a bit annoying.
‘I like a laugh, I’m a comedian, I do like a laugh but I can tell other people are getting a bit… now.
‘He likes the limelight, I know I do – but I’m on stage.’
Gig-goers suggested that the heckler had asked Kay for an autograph. Taking to social media, some the ejection was too harsh, while others believed it the right course of action.
‘(The) first half (was) funny tonight until you decided to throw that feller out for asking for an autograph, doesn’t look good mate I thought you was one of us,’ said one user on X, formerly Twitter.
Another fan replied: ‘Think there was more to it than that, everyone around him seemed p***** off.’
And on Saturday, Kay sparked a fresh row over heckling as he ejected three people from Manchester’s AO Arena.
Kay pictured in April 2022 – months before he began his latest comedy tour across the UK, his first in 12 years. His decision to kick out fans on Saturday has caused controversy
Taking to Twitter after the show, one enraged fan wrote: ‘ I’ve lost a lot of respect for @peterkay_co_uk’
Others described the ordeal as ‘harsh’ and ’embarrassing’ for the star – who has since defended himself via social media
Kay later defended his actions in a statement on social media, claiming the interruptions had made it ‘impossible to continue’
Warehouse driver Philip Peters, 54, and his son, 26, were abruptly evicted from the gig on Saturday night after repeatedly chanting out ‘garlic bread’ – a catchphrase from one of the comedian’s best-known routines.
Mr Peters initially raised a smile from the comic after shouting out the phrase during the first half of the show – but the star was less amused when he did so again in the second, ordering staff to turn the lights up and security to escort him out.
The 54-year-old said he was left with bruises after he and his son were ‘dragged out like ragged dolls’ by security.
Shortly afterwards 25-year-old Myar Curran was also told to leave after shouting out ‘we love you’ – to which an unamused Peter shouted back: ‘Go on, off you go Lisa Riley’ as she was also taken out by security.
Asking how many people found her ‘f****** annoying’, Peter said: ‘Ohhhh there’s about 40. You can’t argue with that. Out she goes.’
To derisive laughter, he adds: ‘Ooh I love this, it’s alright now ,look at this. Go on is she going and all… there you go. Ta-ra darling. Thanks very much. No refunds. Out you pop.’
She thought he was making a quip about her weight in comparing her to the Emmerdale star, telling the Manchester Evening News: ‘I know Lisa Riley has lost a lot of weight and looks great but she used to be a bit bigger.
‘I didn’t used to be this big. I have put a bit of weight on, I’ve had a child. I’m self conscious about that so to go to a show and feel like you’re having the mick taken out of you because of your weight, I was just a bit shocked.’
Some blasted the approach as heavy-handed. Showgoer Jackie Cosgrave said online: ‘I was in that stand on Saturday night: the woman only shouted we love you Peter Kay, she didn’t deserve to be ridiculed, name-called and made to leave.
‘The guy did shout out “garlic bread” a few times, maybe three maximum but it didn’t spoil the show and there was no need for Peter Kay’s OTT [over the top] behaviour.
‘Maybe don’t do a Saturday night comedy show – 80 per cent of the audience will have been drinking and the arena serves drinks.
‘Stick to TV programmes with no live audience because your diva behaviour was embarrassing, not the people in the audience.’
Jason Manford is among a number of comedians to have leapt to the defence of Peter Kay after the comic threw out hecklers at a gig on Saturday
Jason wrote on X in response to a tweet from comic Freddy Quinne that he would deal with hecklers ‘a couple of times’ before electing to throw them out
Millennial comedian Freddy Quinne said audiences did not have the right to ‘just shout s*** out’ because it would ‘ruin the show’
Tom Walker, who performs as sweary mock journalist Jonathan Pie, said audiences did not pay to hear hecklers, whom he branded ‘unfunny entitled p****s’
Comedian Kane Brown defended Peter’s conduct, saying on Good Morning Britain: ‘It’s not right to spoil the show for everyone else’
On Instagram, Peter Kay defended his actions against the hecklers, writing: ‘At the show on Saturday night, February 8th, in Manchester, I had two hecklers disrupting from the very start.
‘I did my best to address the situation and made light of it, as any comedian would, but unfortunately, their interruptions continued.
‘I then tried to ignore them, hoping they’d settle down, but when the disruption persisted into the second half of the show, I asked the audience around them if they were being bothered by the noise.
‘They all shouted “yes,” and when I asked for a show of hands, at least forty people raised theirs. At that point, I had no choice but to take action.
‘The lady who was escorted out did bear a striking resemblance to Lisa Riley, though I don’t see how that’s an insult. This was only the second and third time I’ve had to ask someone to leave during my 114 shows over the past three years of this tour.
‘As a comedian, you never want to eject anyone, but when repeated disruptions make it impossible to continue, it’s important to consider the experience of the rest of the audience, who’ve paid to see a show without interruption.’
Kay was defended by fellow comics, who said audience members did not have the right to heckle.
Jason Manford shared a post from Manchester comedian Freddy Quinne on X that read: ‘You cannot go to a comedy night and just shout s*** out. You’ll ruin the show.
‘If you’re too stupid to understand that, don’t go.’
Reposting the tweet, Jason said: ‘Agreed! Especially in an arena where you can’t even hear a heckle anyway! Deal with them a couple of times and then it’s bye-bye b******!’
The Mancunian added in a further tweet: ‘If a comic asks an audience member a question then that’s not heckling.
‘Heckling is also fine, to a gree, but after it’s had attention, a funny line or two, it’s no longer a comic’s job to deal with drunkness [sic] or rudeness.’
Quinne’s tweet was seen 260,000 times and attracted debate, to which he responded: ‘You absolutely can expect people to not shout… out. Given that there’s 10,000 people in the room and 9,999 seem to be managing just fine.’
Other comedians leapt to Peter’s defence including Tom Walker, who performs as the sweary mock journalist Jonathan Pie.
Responding to a news article about Mr Peters being ejected from the gig, he wrote: ‘They’ve paid the same amount of money as you to hear Peter Kay – not to hear you be an unfunny entitled p****.’
Kay has been famously private about his life – and his comeback has been no different, his new show only touching briefly on a recent kidney stones operation and the death of his 96-year-old grandmother.
But he has also stunned fans by losing a substantial amount of weight in recent years – on which he has been similarly quiet.
MailOnline has contacted Kay’s representatives for comment.
