“Garlic bread? Kick him in the f****** face, will you?”
Peter Kay made light of his turbulent Manchester gig as he told an audience member in Birmingham: “Thank god you don’t look like Lisa Riley.”
The Bolton comedian was back on stage at the NEC on Friday night (February 21), almost two weeks on from his AO Arena show which was hit by hecklers.
Peter booted out a man who yelled ‘garlic bread’ during his February 8 show, as the comic replied: “Garlic bread? Kick him in the f****** face, will you?”
The Phoenix Nights star carried on in a sweary exchange as the man was ejected, before 25-year-old Myar Curran began to chant: “We love you Peter, we do.”
By this point Peter, 51, had heard enough and told security staff to remove her from the arena as well – before asking audience members to put their hands up if they found her ‘f****** annoying’.
As Myar left the crowd, Peter said: “Go on, Lisa Riley, f*** off. Go on. Out you pop flower, go on. See you. You’ve upset every b*gger.”
The jibe sparked controversy, as Myar told the Manchester Evening News she felt ‘annoyed and upset’ by the jibe, which she believed to be a reference to her weight.
Peter reflected on the unruly Manchester show at his Birmingham gig last night, promising not to boot anyone out of the arena ‘unless you f****** start’.
According to MailOnline, Peter told the crowd: “Good evening, how are you? Can I just say thank you very, very much for coming tonight. I really do appreciate it. Thank you.
“Some of you have been waiting years for this and I hope you enjoy it, I really do. So I promise I won’t throw anyone out. I hope you have a good time. Well unless you f****** start – I’m only kidding.”
The show reportedly went on without hiccups, as the audience showed the Car Share star respect as he performed on stage, although security staff were seen patrolling aisles throughout the show.
Crowd members were able to speak out during an audience participation section though, with a microphone handed between gig goers.
MailOnline reports that one woman told Peter she had been to see his tour four times already. Peter replied: “You’re kidding? Thank god you don’t look like Lisa Riley.”
The exchange on February 8 sparked plenty of debate, as some gig goers felt Peter had gone too far, while others rushed to defend the comedian.
Myar told the M.E.N.: “I do feel he was on about my weight. 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. I’m annoyed and upset about it.
“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.
“I did have a cry about it after I got to the hotel room. I was just so upset. It was just a very rubbish situation. My whole family was disgusted by it.”
But Lisa herself spoke out to defend Peter, posting on X: “PLEASE draw a line under this now. I am not offended, never was offended. I love Peter Kay to pieces.”
Meanwhile, the concertgoer who shouted ‘garlic bread’ has since come forward as warehouse driver Philip Peters, 54, who was at the Manchester show with his 26-year-old son.
“I just can’t understand it, all I said was garlic bread,” he told MailOnline.
He added: “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’.”
Addressing the controversy previously, Peter said: “At the show on Saturday night, February 8, 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 40 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.”