Sean takes his tiny audience out for beer

Sean Hughes took his entire audience out for a pint when only 25 people turned up to see him.

The Never Mind The Buzzocks star was disappointed with the size of his audience when he played Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on Thursday night.

So he raced through his set, then offered to buy a drink at a nearby pub for everyone who'd brought a £15 ticket.

And later, the 38-year-old comic even took a couple of them to a curry house.

Edward Gostelow, one of the few to turn up to Hughes' book and poetry reading, told the Eastern Daily Press: "Only about 25 people turned up and I think it was all a bit strange for him.

"It was a weird venue - it's like a courtroom. There's no bar, no smoking and so he wasn't a very happy bunny.

"He pretty much wanted to go to the pub, so he tore through his stuff from 7.30pm to about 9.30pm and then took everybody down the pub.

"It caused a bit of a stir at the bar when other customers realised Sean Hughes had just walked in."

But at the Shapla Tandoori Restaurant , Ayob Ali said: "There was a comedian in here last night. I do not know of him."

Published: 28 Feb 2004