Viewing figures soar

The furore over Jimmy Carr’s tax affairs has sent viewing figures for 8 Out Of 10 Cats soaring.

Just under 2.2million viewers tuned in to Channel 4 on Sunday night to watch the comedian face the taunts of panelists – more than twice the audience of the previous week.

On the show, team captain Sean Lock told Carr: ‘We all like to put a bit of money away for a rainy day, don’t we? But I think you’re more prepared than Noah.’

He also challenged Carr on the conversation he had with his accountant who recommended the controversial K2 offshore scheme, asking him: ‘Can you answer, when you were having this conversation, were you on a telephone and was there a thick plastic glass between the two of you?’

Carr acknowledged: ‘I’ve been dishing it out for years, it’s about time I got some.

‘I hate to sound like I’m passing the buck, but I’ll tell you who I blame for this whole mess – me. It’s entirely my fault.’

Broadcaster Georgie Thompson added: “On the plus side, at least you’ve been in a top five list of something.’

Carr has also faced heckles at his live shows over his situation.

At his gig in Stockport on Friday, he asked one man what he did for a living, to be told: ‘I'm a tax inspector.’

Carr fired back: ‘Well you're doing a fairly shit job of it, aren't you?’

And at his Derby gig on Saturday, he told the audience: ‘You know you’ve had a bad week when the PM takes time out from the G20 to say “Jimmy Carr, what a dick. Excuse me Mr Obama, there’s something more important.”

And he told one fan: ‘You live in the same fantasy land as my accountant.’

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Carr mde another unfortunate swipe at tax-dodgers on his Being Funny DVD, when he called an audience member who said he was from Jersey – where his K2 scheme is based – 'tax-dodging scum'.

Published: 24 Jun 2012