Peter Kay has said it was not “an insult” to liken a heckler to Lisa Riley at his show last weekend, as he addressed the controversy of having two audience members removed.
The Bolton comedian was performing his Manchester gig on Saturday night when a woman was removed by security guards after heckling, including shouting “We love you Peter”.
Kay is said to have likened her to the Emmerdale actress as she was being taken out.
He had another audience member thrown out of the same gig after they repeatedly shouted “garlic bread,” which is one of Kay’s catchphrases.
In a statement posted to Instagram, the 51-year-old said he had “no choice but to take action” and “made light of it as any comedian would”.
He wrote: “I 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.”
He said they all shouted “yes”, and when he asked for a show of hands, about 40 people responded by raising theirs.
“The lady who was escorted out did bear a striking resemblance to Lisa Riley, though I don’t see how that’s an insult.
“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.”
The audience member has said she was “annoyed and upset” about the comments.
“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,” she told the Manchester Evening News.
“The whole arena was laughing, I think they thought it was part of the show but there was a nastiness to his voice. It was like he was trying to get the crowd against me – it just wasn’t nice, to be honest.”
Riley, meanwhile, has insisted she’s “not offended”. The 47-year-old is best known for playing Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale and also fronted You’ve Been Framed in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Appearing to respond to her impromptu mention during the show, Riley posted a picture on Instagram on Monday which read: “Keep calm and laugh”. She added the message: “It’s a laugh, it’s funny!!!”
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She followed up on Tuesday with a post on Instagram that said: “Please draw a line under this now. I am not offended, never was offended. I love Peter Kay to pieces. Laughter is my favourite medicine”.
One audience member told the Manchester Evening News that Kay had “shouted” at the hecklers for “a good three to five minutes” during the show.
They said the audience was mixed in their reaction: “Some couldn’t believe it and were obviously annoyed and others were laughing, either thinking it was part of the show or going along with it.”
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Kay, who has been performing his record-breaking Better Late Than Never Again tour since 2022, recently performed his 100th show at the AO Arena – the same venue the three hecklers were expelled from.
Tickets to watch the show start at £35, but go up to about £350 for top-notch seats.
Sky News has contacted representatives for Kay for comment.
Kay is currently scheduled to perform his tour into spring 2026.
