This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

The comedian Nish Kumar has said the audience member who threw a bread roll at him during a charity gig needs to attend an anger management course.

The Mash Report host was performing a standup set for free when some of the crowd took exception to his political jokes. A bread roll was thrown and Kumar was booed off stage.

Recalling the December incident, he said hostile receptions were part of a comedian’s job – but the person who threw food should consider seeking help.

“I’m entitled to express my opinion and they’re entitled to express their opinion about my opinion,” he said. “I think the guy that chucked the bread roll probably needs to be on an anger management course because I just think anytime as an adult, you’re flinging bread at someone, you’ve taken leave of your senses.”

Kumar was performing at the Lord’s Taverners annual lunch, which raises money for the youth cricket and disability sports charity.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Watch the incident involving the standup

The bread-throwing incident attracted intense media interest and the comedian admits to being surprised by the level of coverage.

He said: “The thing that was odder was the level of media interest in it and the amount of news coverage it received was frankly baffling. But certainly the actual booing itself, as mad as it sounds, I don’t really have a problem with it. I’m a comedian – worst things have happened to me.”

The Mash Report will return for a fourth series next month, but the satirical show will not be filmed in front of a live studio audience amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Kumar, 34, said public health must come first: “My entire career has been building up to a TV show in front of a sparse studio audience … There’s a reason that we have studio audiences for these shows – it creates an atmosphere and gives the feeling in the room, but it’s a public health issue, isn’t it?

“So the lowest priority for everyone is [going to] a TV record, so we’ll obviously just work around it as best we can.”

For the new series the cast will be filming themselves at home. Kumar will be joined virtually by guests including Rachel Parris, Geoff Norcott, Ellie Taylor, Catherine Bohart, Desiree Burch, and Ahir Shah.

The Mash Report will return on 3 April at 10pm on BBC Two.