8 Out of 10 Cats star Jon Richardson full of praise for Stourbridge comedy venue

The 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown team captain was trying out material ahead of his new tour, starting in September, at Fitz of Laughter Comedy Club on Saturday.

The club, based at Katie Fitzgerald’s in Wollaston, hosted 5pm and 8.30pm shows with the popular comic taking to the stage.

Both shows sold out before making it to general sales, with organisers Funny Beeseness offering the 200 prized £10 tickets to people who had attended two or more of their shows since lockdown ended last July.

Richardson was called back out for an encore after the second show and he described the club as “amazing” before thanking the audience and telling them he had “loved this”.

Wayne Beese, director of Funny Beeseness, said: "It was a special day.

“It was brilliant to be able to say thank you to the people who have supported us the most since coming out of lockdown.

“Jon was a class act both on and off stage, and to hear a true heavyweight of the industry in this country saying such nice things about our club was just unbelievable.

“His show is fantastic and I would urge people to go and see it at Wolverhampton or Birmingham later this year.

“I am so proud that we are fast gaining a reputation as one of the best small comedy clubs in the country, and I am hopeful Jon will not be the last big name to pay us a visit.

“We will continue to put two shows on each month at Katie’s, August aside, and I would urge people to come and see us so they are at the top of the queue for loyalty points when we announce the next one.”

The visit by Jon Richardson follows that of Joe Lycett, who performed on stage at the club in February.

For a full list of shows at Katie’s and other venues, or to book tickets, visit funnybeeseness.co.uk.