Lisa Riley reacts to Peter Kay’s ‘upsetting’ gig jibe

An audience member says she is “annoyed and upset” by the comments made by the
comedian.

Arts and entertainment reporter @BethanyMinelle
[http://twitter.com/@BethanyMinelle]

Tuesday 11 February 2025 13:29, UK

Lisa Riley has reacted to reports that Peter Kay likened a heckler to her,
insisting she’s “not offended”.

The Bolton comedian [https://news.sky.com/topic/peter-kay-7522] was performing
his Manchester gig on Saturday night when a woman was removed by security guards
after shouting “We love you Peter”. Kay is said to have likened her to Riley as
she was being taken out.

The audience member has said she is “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, 48, 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!!!”

She then followed it up on Tuesday with a post on Instagram which 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”.

Kay was also understood to have thrown two men out of the same gig after one
repeatedly shouted “garlic bread,” which is one of Kay’s catchphrases.

Kay told ITV’s Good Morning Britain he had taken action against hecklers as they
were ruining the show for others, and it was “no longer fair” to the other
audience members.

In response to his likening of one audience member to Riley, he said in a
statement to the show: “I didn’t realise it was an insult. She did look
remarkably like Lisa Riley, I didn’t realise that was an insult”.

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, 51, 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.