Jimmy Carr says a big difference between him and Peter Kay is that when he ejects people from his shows, ‘they get kicked out for a reason’.

His comments come after the Car Share comic hit the headlines for throwing fans out of his arena shows for being disruptive.

But speaking on Capital Breakfast today, Carr said: ‘I do like a heckle. People come to my tour show and there’s a lot of jokes in it. There’s a lot of like, "Okay, I’ve written a show, this is it," and then I like to leave enough space so people can just join in and shout nonsense. 

‘It’s kind of that thing of like, I suppose like watching a magician do magic. Because I’m so used to it, it’s like, "Bring it!" I’m not going to get insulted and it’s kind of fun."

Co-host Chris Stark asked: ‘Do you worry about a backlash if you kick out a heckler? Because I think that’s a big thing at the moment.;

To which Carr replied: ‘I think Peter Kay is a national treasure, he’s a wonderful, wonderful man, and he’s incredibly likeable. But there’s 16,000 people in a room, and he had to get rid of some people who were getting in the way of the evening. 

‘And his duty is to the 16,000 people who have booked a hotel, and they’ve bought a ticket and they’re there at the arena to watch the show.

‘And we all know there’s a huge difference between shouting out something that’s disruptive and repetitive and annoying, and joining in and adding value. And the people at my show are very lucky. The audience that come to see me know that when it’s heckling or joining in and asking questions. It’s not random, drunken nonsense. 

‘There’s a huge difference. So, when I kick people out as well it’s… The difference between me and Peter Kay is I don’t care.’

'You go for the jugular!,’ presenter Jordan North interjected

‘If they get kicked out, they get kicked out for a reason,’ Carr said. 

Watch video of the interview here.

• Capital Breakfast with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Sian Welby is on weekdays from 6am to 10am across the UK and on Global Player