Paul Merton and Suki Webster had to abandon their gig last night when water started pouring through the roof of the Victorian theatre where they were performing.

The pair were in the last 15 minutes of their improv tour show in Portsmouth’s Theatre Royal when some members of the audience started leaving their seats as the leak started.

Reports say the performers initially hesitated on stage before being called off. After a few minutes they comics returned to tell the audience the remainder of the show could not safely continue.

The venue blamed ‘exceptionally heavy rainfall’ for the leak and thanked the audience ‘for their patience and good humour’.

The comics told Chortle: ‘We were on stage during the second half of our show when suddenly we became aware of a loud hissing noise coming from the auditorium. When we looked out into the audience it became alarmingly clear that it had actually started to rain inside the theatre! 

‘We’d like to thank the theatre staff for their calmness and professionalism and also our wonderful audience who took everything in their stride. We’re so sorry we had to stop the show but the most important thing was to get everyone evacuated as quickly and safely as possible. We hope the beautiful New Theatre Royal hasn't suffered too much and can be repaired quickly.’

Here's the scene after they had to call off the show:

Richard Pearce, chief executive of Portsmouth Theatres, said: ‘We are sorry that last night's audience didn't get to see the end of the show, and we're enormously grateful to them for their patience and understanding. Nothing matters more to us than the safety of our audiences and our staff, and the team handled the situation brilliantly.’

Owners of the theatre have secured £1million funding to replace the roof, and scaffolding is in place to start that work.

A spokesperson for Portsmouth Theatres said: ‘Staff acted quickly and calmly to ask the audience to leave the building. This was a precautionary decision, taken purely for safety reasons. No one was hurt. The box office team is in direct contact with everyone affected.

‘The venue has experienced leaks before, but this is the first time one has affected a live audience. Additional measures are now being put in place so that performances can continue safely and without disruption, both while the roof works are in progress and once they are complete.

They added: ‘The roof of this much-loved Grade II* listed theatre has been a known problem for many years’ adding that a 2025 survey  identified £1.5million of urgent capital works and a total of £4.5million to be spent on furtherf works over the next 20 years, with funding yet to be secured.

Water damage from the leak

The venue dates from 1854 and the current building was built in 1900, designed by prominent music hall architect Frank Matcham. It underwent a £4.7million, three-year refurbishment just over a decade ago. 

The venue – which was mentioned in Charles Dickens’s novel Nicholas Nickleby – had fallen into disrepair and disuse at several points in its history and suffered a major fire in 1972. 

In their statement to this website, Merton and Webster, who are married, said the building ‘is part of our country's theatrical heritage. We need to make sure that we continue to invest in these buildings so that they can be loved and enjoyed by many generations to come.’

Merton returns to BBC One tomorrow as Have I Got News For You returns for its 72nd series, this week's episode hosted by Richard Ayoade, with Gyles Brandreth and Charlotte Church as guests. 

Further performances at the Theatre Royal are set to continue as scheduled.