Peter Kay has spoken out after having three hecklers ejected from his ‘Better Late Than Never… Again!’ gig at Manchester’s AO Arena.
The 51-year-old comedian explained that the hecklers were ruining the experience for other attendees, stating there comes a point where ‘it’s no longer fair’ to the rest of the audience when he has to deal with such interruptions.
He also defended himself after likening a woman to Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley before asking her to leave the venue. He told ITV’s Good Morning: “‘I didn’t realise it was an insult. She did look remarkably like Lisa Riley, I didn’t realise that was an insult.”
One fan had repeatedly shouted “garlic bread,” referencing Peter’s well-known catchphrase, leading the comedian to call security for their removal, the Mirror reports.
Another audience member who expressed admiration by shouting “we love you”, was also asked to leave, with Peter making a comment comparing her to soap star Lisa Riley.
After she called out, the comedian retorted from the stage: “Go on, off you go Lisa Riley.” His decision to remove the hecklers upset some fans, who labelled his actions as “nasty and bitter”.
Some attendees took issue with certain jokes, including an impression of a blind person and topics such as erections. One attendee told MailOnline: “I’ve lost a lot of respect for Peter Kay after the way he treated the heckler at the end of his Manchester Feb 8 show.”
Another dissatisfied audience member conveyed their dismay to the press, saying: “Having him removed by force by his entourage and cracking jokes about it over the three or four minutes it took. No manners. Huge waste of money.”
Someone else added: “The whole thing just feels very nasty and bitter. His performance was poor but the way he dealt with one heckler and someone shouting ‘we love you’ was ridiculous. My friend and I left the show after that, half an hour early. Others left the show early too.”
Subsequent to remarks drawing a comparison between the woman and Lisa, the actress addressed the situation with an indirect message on her Instagram. Having been candid about her extraordinary weight loss achievement of 12 stone, Lisa posted an uplifting maxim on recognising life’s positives.
It stated: “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.”
Alongside the quote, Lisa captioned: “See the good in life….before you ALWAYS jump to the negative….its such a simpler way to live for sure #grateful #gratitude #nomoaning #think.”
Phillip Peters, the attendee who shouted ‘garlic bread’, voiced his bewilderment post-ejection from the function. He commented: “I just can’t understand it, all I said was ‘garlic bread’… I was there with my son and they dragged us out like ragged dolls.”
The warehouse driver thought he’d made a hit with his shout-out during the comedic show, including getting a nod of approval from the star himself.
Recalling the event, he said: “In the first half of the show, I shouted out ‘garlic bread’ and they zoomed in on the camera on me. And I put my thumbs up and thought everything was okay.
“I got no warning or anything, people around us were laughing and joking. Then in the second half of the show I said it again, ‘garlic bread’, and that’s when the security guards came over to me and said ‘you are going to have to leave – Peter Kay doesn’t like people shouting out’.”
Despite the incident, fans of Peter Kay can still catch him on his UK and Ireland tour, which is ongoing through 2026.