Jason Manford backs Peter Kay after comedian kicks hecklers out

star Jason Manford has leapt to the defence of after the Phoenix Nights creator and star had hecklers ejected from a show.

The comedian was slammed by fans attending his show on Saturday February 8 after he had two audience members thrown out for disturbing his performance while referring to one of them as Lisa Riley in reference to the star who plays Mandy Dingle.

Taking to X, Jason gave his thoughts in response to others who agreed with Peter’s actions. He reposted one user’s thoughts before giving his own opinion.

“The Peter Kay throwing a heckler out of his show thing. 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,” the original author wrote.

“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******!” Jason penned.

Another fan replied: “Nothing worse than sitting near an unfunny p*** head ruining the show. I’ve paid to watch the comedian. (To be fair the ‘robbed at the bar’ one from your show was funny).”

“Oh yeah, haha classic! but that’s different, if a comic asks an audience member a question then that’s not heckling. Heckling is also fine, to a degree, but after it’s had attention, a funny line or two, it’s no longer the comic’s job to deal with drunkness or rudeness,” he explained.

Jason’s thoughts echo which he posted publicly on his story. He claimed he had “no choice” but to take action after the audience admitted they were bothered by their actions.

“At the show on Saturday night, February 8th, in Manchester I had two hecklers disrupting from the very start,” he wrote.

“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 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.”

The drama was said to have started when a man in the audience repeatedly shouted Kay’s famous Pheonix Night’s catchphrase, ‘Garlic Bread’. Peter addressed the heckler directly, as a witness said: “Peter Kay said, ‘Right this guy, where are you?’ The lights were turned on him, and he was singled out in front of the crowd.”

When six or seven security guards came to remove the man, the mood changed and many in attendance were surprised. At this point, a woman shouted: “We love you, Peter Kay!” This then reportedly led to Kay saying: “Yeah, get her out too. I’m enjoying this. Who wants her out too?” A witness claimed everyone raised their hands, thinking it was part of the comedy show.

The witness added: “He then proceeded to shout at them for three to five minutes. The audience was mixed; some couldn’t believe it and were obviously annoyed, and others were laughing, thinking it was part of the show or going along with it.”