Davidson abandons show

Jim Davidson stormed off stage last night rather than face a heckler.

The comedian slunk off after a man in the audience of his show in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, accused him of stealing his girlfriend 30 years ago.

And even though Davidson had not even started his set, he walked straight offstage, prompting a lot more heckling.

Speaking from the wings, the 50-year-old comic then told the audience: "This isn't going to work is it folks?" and refused to return to the microphone.

He apparently walked off after the heckler yelled: “The last time you were here you ran off with my girlfriend.”

Fan Jason Hemming told Chortle: "This bloke walked up to the stage - he was drunk - then Jim started to walk offstage and said 'it's not gonna happen tonight.'

"He started cracking a few jokes from behind the curtains then we didn't hear anything again - he just stormed out.

"He's lost a lot of fans. I just couldn't believe it. Maybe he ran out of material."

Pam Ray, a nother punter at the £19-a-ticket gig, said: "He walked on, threw his dolly out of the pram and walked off after 30 seconds. I hope they never book him again he is totally unprofessional. Has he never dealt with one heckler before?"

More irate callers to the local BBC WM radio station complained that they were given no explanation about why the show was cancelled, which caused outrage at the Royal Spa Centre.

One man said: "There was no announcement - nothing. People started going down to the foyer and the poor doormen were getting it left, right and centre from everyone."

In his defence, Davidson told the Mirror: "They were drunk. I waited in the wings but there was no way I could carry on. It ruined the show for the other 800 people in the audience."

Published: 29 Jan 2005