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Lisa Riley has dispelled any appearance of animosity between her and Peter Kay after the comedian made a joke about the actor, which some audience members deemed as “derogatory”.
Riley wrote on Instagram alongside the photos: “THANK YOU so so so much Peter for the most fantastic night last night at @firstdirectarena we laughed until it hurt – the show is absolutely hilarious. We were up until way gone midnight reciting all the jokes – northern at its absolute best.”
She added: “My best mate Floss and my God-Daughter Chloe had the most beautiful night-smiling from ear to ear and still laughing this morning.”
It comes after Kay made a joke in which he compared an audience member’s appearance to Riley during a performance at the AO Arena in Manchester in February.
According to reports, Kay was left frustrated when a man repeatedly interrupted and shouted his catchphrase “garlic bread”.
An audience member claimed that, as security escorted the man out, a woman shouted, “We love you, Peter”, and that the comedian asked security to remove her also.
MailOnline reports Kay as saying: “Oh Christ almighty. Bloody hell. I love Saturdays. Is he gone now? Alright, love I’ve heard you. Take her out and all while you’re up there will you? Take her out.
“Go on, you’ve missed the ending and everything, what a shame with your f***ing big gob drinking de-icer. Out you go. Go on, Lisa Riley, f*** off. Go on. Out you pop flower, go on. See ya.”
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The woman involved, Myar Curran has since spoken to the Manchester Evening News and admitted the jibe from Kay did upset her.
“I do feel he was on about my weight,” the 25-year-old told the publication. “ 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.” The Independent has contacted Kay for comment.
Following backlash to his comment, Kay told Good Morning Britain on Tuesday (11 February): “I didn’t realise it was an insult. She did look remarkably like Lisa Riley. I didn’t realise that was an insult.”
Kay in a statement shared with the ITV show: “There comes a point when dealing with repeated hecklers simply isn’t enough. It’s not something you ever want to do but it becomes a point when it’s no longer fair to everyone around.”
After the reports surfaced about the joke, Riley quickly dispelled any narrative that she was offended by the remarks.
She shared a post on her Instagram page days later, which said: “Keep calm and laugh,” adding as a caption: “It’s a laugh, it’s funny!”
In a follow-up post on Tuesday (11 February), she told her followers she was “not offended”, saying she “loves” Kay “to pieces”.
“Please draw a line under this now,” she wrote. “I am not offended, never was offended. I love Peter Kay to pieces. Laughter is my favourite medicine.”
Kay’s tour is set to run for 12 months, a record-breaking 48 of which are happening at London’s O2, which is the most consecutive dates any talent has performed at the venue.
