Hecklers get the better of Jim

The comic was silenced by a rowdy chorus of boos and jeers when he took to the stage at the Stockport Plaza last week.

He admitted defeat and walked into the wings. And when he returned ten mnutes later, fans said his performance was 'half-hearted'.

Audience member Fred Norman said he was left `heartbroken' by the debacle, which he blamed on people deliberately trying to sabotage the show.

He told the Manchester Evening News: 'Every time Jim tried to speak they shouted over him.

'They even used Manchester United chants to drown him out. After about 20 minutes he said "Enough's enough. How's about I call it quits and give you your money back? I can't compete".

'When he came back to finish the show, but it was half-hearted - nothing like the DVDs. He just didn't want to be there.

'At the end of the show he asked the hecklers not to come to see him again if he ever returned.'

Stockport Plaza manager Ted Doan said: 'You do tend to get hecklers at this sort of show and Jim dealt with them well. But at one point a few hecklers went a little too far and Jim had to take a moment off stage. The heckling was a bit of a problem, but he came back and carried on with the show.'

A spokeswoman for the bankrupt 53-year-old comic, who now lives in Dubai, said: 'Jim had a lot of support from fans there. It must have been really frustrating for them to see other audience members destroying what should have been a fantastic show.'

Published: 17 Mar 2007