Kettering comedy hero James Acaster brings ticketing websites across the country to a halt as Hecklers Welcome Tour goes on sale

Tickets for James Acaster’s Hecklers Welcome tour went on sale at 10am – and brought ticketing websites to a grinding halt.

People who had hoped to get coveted seats for his latest 40-date show – that will tour the UK in summer – were left disappointed as tickets for most gigs sold out in seconds.

Fans as far away as Bristol and Wales faced long virtual queues to get seats as an announcement on James’s own website at around 10.15am said tickets had sold out.

Locals trying to get tickets for four gigs at The Lighthouse Theatre in Kettering were able to put tickets in their basket, but were then met with messages saying too many people were trying to get tickets, and to try again later.

It’s expected that James, who previously worked at Wicksteed Park and featured in an episode of SkyMax documentary Hold the Front Page centred around the Northants Telegraph in January, may announce further dates although his schedule is extremely tight. He’ll play 40 gigs at Cardiff, Kettering, Glasgow, Salford, Birmingham, Dublin, Brighton, Bristol, Leeds and Belfast in three-and-a-half months.

The tour is described as a relaxed 90-minute show without an interval where bars will be open throughout and the audience is allowed to come and go as necessary.

Acaster attended Montagu School and his family still lives locally. He often features Kettering in his comedy shows and returns to the town frequently. He began performing stand-up 15 years ago and has since risen to national fame.