...of Christmas as Shirley Ghostman pulls shows

Parody psychic Shirley Ghostman – the alter-ego of Marc Wooton – has cancelled his pre-Halloween run of gigs.

No explanation has been given as to why the Spooktacular On Ice shows in Manchester this Friday; Bristol next Thursday and London next Friday and Saturday have been pulled. But ticket-holders were told: 'Hang onto [your] tickets and the rescheduled dates will be announced in due course.'

The show in Edinburgh on Saturday had previously been cancelled completely.

A statement said: 'It is with regret that Shirley Ghostman has postponed his Spooktacular On Ice tour dates after sustaining an anterior groin strain during rehearsals. Britain's premier psychic superstar was attempting a quadruple monkey flip across the ice whilst channelling the spirit of Lady Di what died when the accident happened.

'Shirley denies unforeseen circumstances and says he did see it coming, he just couldn't tell anyone in case it created a time paradox.

'He would like to offer his sincere apologies to all his fans and looks forward to seeing them in the new year.'

Earlier this month, Chortle reported how Wootton was been interviewed by police after interrupting a Derek Acorah show in character and challenging him to a 'psychic showdown'. The comic ran onstage as his spoof medium character during Acorah's performance at the King's Theatre in Portsmouth, before being tackled by security and escorted from the venue.

The publicist for the Spooktacular On Ice show was unable to give a straight answer as to why the gigs had been pulled, and Wooton's publicist has not yet replied to a request for comment.

Published: 20 Oct 2015