Comedian Peter Kay has announced a very different new project after being hit with bullying claims on his UK tour when he decided to boot hecklers out of his show
Peter Kay is ready to take on a new challenge as he has revealed his new project away from his mammoth tour. The comedian, 51, recently returned to the spotlight and has been performing his act in arenas up and down the country.
Earlier this year, Peter hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons as he was filmed kicking a heckler out of his show. He halted his performance and had security remove a number of fans after claiming they were spoiling the show for the rest of the attendees.
However, after he labelled one ejected fan “Lisa Riley” and the remark caused a scandal, with the heckler claiming Peter was a “bully”. Now, it seems Peter is ready to turn the page on the drama as he sets his sights on a very different career.
Peter has revealed he has put pen to paper and promises to detail his life in his most personal book yet. In true Peter style, the book hilariously nods to Bridget Jones’ Diary, as the comedian’s face sits on top of the iconic character.
Announcing the news, he said: “Introducing… Peter Kay’s Diary: The Monthly Memoir of a Boy from Bolton, Peter’s most personal and hilarious book yet. Join Peter for a laugh-out-loud journey through his life, month by month.”
A teaser for the book added: “Think of this autobiography as a twelve-month subscription to my memories and meanderings across the calendar year. With each month reflecting a different phase of my life, complete with dodgy decisions, bizarre plot twists and more than a few laugh-out-loud moments.”
Back in February, Peter dealt with hecklers at his Better Late Than Never… Again! gig at Manchester’s AO Arena – but things didn’t quite go as he’d planned. While he said it wasn’t an insult, and Lisa herself acknowledged there was no ill-meaning, the woman in question fumed that the star had humiliated her.
“Go on, off you go, Lisa Riley,” Peter had jibed, making a comparison to the former Emmerdale actress. Shortly after his remark on his decision to eject the fan in Manchester, Peter opened up on the incident on Good Morning Britain.
“I didn’t realise it was an insult,” he said. “She did look remarkably like Lisa Riley, I didn’t realise that was an insult.” But despite his insistence there was no dig meant, the woman in question revealed she was mortified.
Myar Curran accused the star of being a “bully”. Speaking herself on the ITV show, Myar said: “I didn’t mean to cause any harm, I was just showing my love as he kicked someone out, but he obviously didn’t like it.”
She added: “I feel like what I said was not abusive or aggressive – it wasn’t anti-social and I wasn’t drunk. I was just standing u,p chanting ‘we love you Peter, we do’. It’s just been a bit over the top, his reaction.”
A month later, Peter threatened to kick even more audience members out of his show at London’s O2 Arena. Brushing off the previous backlash, he poked fun at the criticism he faced as he once again halted his show to make an example of one of his fans.
Addressing the crowds, he asked: “Is it them in that box? Is that them? Who is it? Eh, it’s you monkeys there. Now then, what are we going to do with you now? These people in this area now, do any of you look like Lisa Riley? No, alright,” he joked as the crowd erupted into laughter.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, an audience member said: “Peter waded in as the crowd was audibly kicking off due to some disagreement in the crowd. He poked fun at the idea of kicking them out, then dished out the issue to his security.
“But he did reference it again twice in the show as they kept shouting, comparing it to a ‘boot sale’ at one point. It seemed like the audience in the area wanted him to kick the person out due to all the drama.”
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