Richard Herring’s gig on Sunday night at the Chorley Theatre did not go quite as expected. Early on in the sold-out show when Herring was joking about mishearing the lyrics to hymns a woman got up and walked out, but not before trying to persuade the comedian to give her the microphone.

Herring has written about the incident on his blog, Warming Up. It turned out that the woman was very religious and was offended by Herring’s irreverence. Even more intriguingly, it transpired that she was on a first date with a man who was recently divorced and had not had a date in 18 years. 

In the interval Herring was told by one of the organisers that she was upset that he thought Jesus was a subject for comedy and that she thought all the audience would be going to hell for laughing. She had asked why he couldn’t do comedy about garlic bread.

Herring writes on his blog that at least he got plenty of mileage out of the incident. “Every time I made a risque joke I said ‘thank God she left'”. And as for her potential new boyfriend, Herring offered him some support: “I admitted that I had probably ruined his chances, but that it might have been a lucky escape.”

Read the full account of the incident here and here.

Update 6/3: Footage has now emerged of the incident. Watch below. There is also a longer audio version on Richard Herring's new Lord of the Dance Settee podcast. Listen here.

Breaking News: Mark Watson cancels gigs - details here.

Other News: Seann Walsh Gets The Drinks In...