Comedian forced to apologise to fans after cancelling gigs over ill health
Rob Beckett has been forced to cancel a string of gigs on his popular Giraffe tour due to ill health. The Mock the Week star, 39, told ticket-holders he wasn't well enough to perform for the Scottish leg of his concerts as he took to Instagram with an apology.
Admitting he 'hated doing this' but was too poorly to go on stage, Rob wrote: "Hello everyone, I'm so sorry, but I'm not well and can't do the shows in Scotland this week. Aberdeen has been rescheduled to Wednesday 14th Jan 20206 and Edinburgh has been rescheduled to Thursday 15th Jan 2026. The venue will be in touch but tickets remain valid for both shows. I hate doing this, but I'm not well enough to give you the best show possible, but I look forward to seeing you all at the new shows."
Responding to the news on X, formerly Twitter, several fans said they were 'gutted' Rob had been forced to cancel as they wished him a 'speedy recovery', adding that they hoped they'd 'see him soon'.
It comes after the dad-of-two, who is one of the most recognisable comics in the country, admitted that he wanted to take a step back from stand-up.
Speaking to The Sun, Rob said he needed to prioritise his family as the dad of two young. daughters. Lifting the lid on his career in March, he said: "I'll still do stand up and local clubs and charity gigs but I'm going to take a break from touring until the kids are 16/17.
"Then I'll do a big tour when they're in sixth form and when they go to Uni, me and [wife] Lou are going to spend Feb and March in Australia bumming around."
And when he's 50, Rob plans to change tack from comedy completely, revealing: "When I'm 50 I want to do a psychology degree."
It was more than a decade ago that the bespectacled star started doing stand-up comedy, which lead to a whole host of appearances on TV shows and podcasts.
Rob has been on the likes of 8 Out of 10 Cats, Rob & Romesh Vs... and All Together Now and also narrates reality series Celebs Go Dating.
His impressive career must be the envy of many stand-ups starting out in the business, but in his memoir, A Class Act, Rob admitted he was 'headed for a breakdown' after a stint of filming in Cape Town, South Africa. During the shoot, which was sandwiched between dates in his sell-out comedy tour, the comic claimed he was "the unhappiest I have ever been. He wrote: "I woke up on January 5 in a five-star hotel room thinking it would be better and easier for everyone if I was dead.
Rob continued: "I thought I was a confident and well-balanced person, but I wasn't. I was feeding off that drug of attention and applause and laughter from the gig," the 35-year-old continues. "You chase it like a drug, but the reality is that being content is what you're after, which comes from inside."
After talking with his manager, Rob went on to seek a therapist's help for eight months, which he says, thankfully, gave him breathing space.
He shared: "I did some therapy to calm my brain down. I wouldn't say I had a breakdown because that would be unfair to people who have had them, but I was definitely heading that way.
"The timing of getting therapy and the pandemic and my gigs stopping was lucky. It gave me the breathing space that you can't always take if you've got a busy schedule."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Real Housewives of London's Juliet Mayhew hits out at 'ridiculous' co-star amid feud
The new reality series kicks off in with a big bust-up and promises more drama It's fights, camera, action as The Real Housewives of London gets off to an explosive start. Socialite Juliet Mayhew is at the centre of an almighty barney in the first episode and gives us all the juicy details of what went on behind the scenes – and how it's still rumbling on. Juliet is one of six glamorous and filthy rich women launching the famous franchise in the capital. Dripping in jewels and kitted out in couture, it was handbags at dawn as Juliet and rival Panthea Parker locked horns over an old gripe from before the cameras started rolling. Iran-born Panthea, who is married to a top lawyer, took aim at every rich person's Achilles heel – their diamonds. An insulted Juliet explains: 'She goes on the show and says my beautiful engagement ring is fake. At the premiere, I'm wearing an insane emerald and covered with diamonds from Boodles. They're close family friends… and she says I borrow clothes.' Juliet, who lives in a £6million Kensington townhouse and also owns a beachside property in St Mawes, Cornwall, adds: 'It was quite ridiculous. Someone who likes to take someone down to build themselves up… it's very sad. But it's drama and everyone loves that.' Lifestyles of the rich and the soon-to-be famous, eh? The knives may be out but mum-of-two Juliet has brushed off the conflict. She tells me: 'It's like water off a duck's back. If that's the best you can come up with, we're in for a ride…' And it sounds like viewers will be, too. The Real Housewives shows, in cities such as New York and Beverly Hills, have made household names of stars such as Lisa Vanderpump and Luann de Lesseps. I can see memes and viral moments aplenty coming from the London show, with straight-talking Juliet at the centre. She explains: 'I'm an Aussie. We wear our hearts on our sleeves. People are gonna love or hate me. It's like Vegemite, right?' Stylist Juliet Angus, model-turned entrepreneur Amanda Cronin, fashion designer Karen Loderick-Peace, and cake supremo Nessie Welschinger make up the rest of the ensemble. They launched the series with a glamourous premiere this week. Comedian Katherine Ryan is hosting the series and said it was a "dream opportunity". We'll see the girls totter around London from Belgravia to Chelsea, hosting lavish dinners, eating in fancy restaurants and shopping at boutique design houses. They even escape to a Scottish castle that Juliet and her husband have invested in. But it won't be all champagne and excess, says singer, actress, entrepreneur and interior designer Juliet. She is also a passionate campaigner and charity ambassador, and is keen to show that side of herself. Juliet is helping to empower women in business and recently launched an eco-friendly soap bar that is bringing work to struggling communities in the Dominican Republic. She hopes to tempt one of her celeb mates on to the show for the next series, such as Aussie actress and singer Holly Valance. She says: 'Holly is one of my closest ride-or-dies. We've been through lots of highs and lows together. 'She's probably one of the smartest women I know and she'll tell me it as it is. She'll absolutely floor everyone.'
Daily Mirror
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Rhian Sugden undergoes 'life-changing' surgery as boobs left her in complete agony
Former Page 3 model Rhian Sugden spent £10,000 on breast reduction surgery to ease the constant pain caused by her "extra large" boobs, but some of her fans and her husband were left "gutted" Former Page 3 girl Rhian Sugden has admitted her "extra large" boobs left her in "agony" after having her son, with her nipples left 11cm too low. The Celebrity Big Brother star said that "gravity took its toll" on her body, forcing her to get a breast reduction. The model, 38, explained to her 492,000 Instagram followers how her breasts had impacted her life in a video. She started: "So, being an ex-Page 3 model, I'm no stranger to getting my boobs out, so I've always been conscious about what they look like and growing up, I think I've had quite a good set of boobs. "But since having a baby gravity has obviously taken its toll and my nipples are 11cm lower than they should be." She admitted her nipples left her feeling a "bit paranoid" and was keen to get her breasts "a bit smaller, perkier, uplifted," to improve her quality of life. It comes after one TV star admitted she sleeps in separate bed to partner as she fumes over pregnancy. READ MORE: Mark Wright shares big 'disappointment' after holiday with baby Palma and Michelle Keegan Rhian continued: "My cup size at the minute is a 34GG, I can fit into a H, and it's just so difficult to buy a decent bra these days. Bikinis, I can't even find one to get into because my frame is so small and my boobs are so big so it's quite difficult. "My back ache, honestly I must have to get a massage like once a week to try and ease the pain and tension in my back." She also found she was missing out on hobbies because of her body. Rhian explained: "I swim a hell of a lot and I think because my boobs are so big, when I swim my back arches up because they push out the water. So even swimming is difficult for me at the moment, not to mention not being able to get into a swimsuit." The surgery was a beacon of hope for Rhian, who was left with deep grooves in her shoulders daily from her bra straps. She added: "Having this reduction is literally going to change my life." Rhian captioned the Instagram post: "A little bit about why I decided to have my breast reduction! This is before, clearly. Those banjongas." Even walking was difficult, her posture was affected and she was living on painkillers, so she decided surgery was the only answer. She forked out more than £10,000 to have the op at Newton-le-Willows clinic Pall Mall Cosmetics. But despite Rhian feeling like a new woman since her surgery, she has admitted her husband, Corrie's Oliver Mellor, wasn't fully on board to begin with. Speaking to the Sun, she said: "Oliver was gutted at first – he's always loved my boobs. But he understands and I think he'll be happy for me to stop moaning about my back ache, to be honest." She's also had mixed feedback from her fans, with one demanding a "refund" as he had bought her content online. OnlyFans creator Rhian explained: "He was saying I'm making the worst mistake of my life – how dare I remove the boobs." Rhian admitted that although she's had the reduction for health and cosmetic reasons, she has found it "difficult" to process other people having an opinion on her body. "It's going to be a relief," she said after her surgery.
Daily Mirror
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Karren Brady looks completely unrecognisable after cosmetic tweakment
The Apprentice aide Baroness Karren Brady shared a photo of herself on social media recently, which attracted attention, with her having promoted a procedure in the same post this week Fans said that they didn't recognise Baroness Karren Brady in a photo shared by the Apprentice aide this week. It comes after the business executive announced that she would be making a change to her wardrobe after undergoing a procedure. Karren, 56, who is also the vice chair of West Ham United F.C., shared a photo of herself modelling a sleeveless white dress on Instagram yesterday. She suggested in the post that it had been taken after having her skin tightened. The post has amassed more than 8,000 likes, and Karren was met with compliments in the comments section. Several people said that they didn't recognise her initially, with some suggesting that they mistook her for other celebrities. The first photo in the post showed Karren stood modelling the sleeveless dress, which she had accessorised with a Chanel belt, in a hallway. A second photo gave a glimpse at a procedure, with a device seen being used on an arm. Karren wrote in the caption: "I never thought I'd be able to wear short sleeves again, but after a course of Exion skin-tightening with radio frequency, I can! Exion uses radiofrequency and targeted ultrasound to naturally boost hyaluronic acid by up to 224%, while stimulating collagen and elastin for smoother, firmer, more youthful-looking skin - all with no needles, no pain, and no downtime." She went on to tease that she will now be wearing more sleeveless outfits. Karren concluded by writing: "Bring on the sleeveless tops! Huge thanks to Rita Rakus @drritarakus_ as always." Some fans complimented her in the comments section of the post this week. One person wrote to her: "You look incredible Karren." Another said: "Stunning outfit. You look amazing Karren." Whilst a third reacted: "You look fabulous." Others suggested that she looked different. One person responded to the post: "For a second I really thought it was a different person." Another said: "She looks so different." Someone else commented: "Did not recognise her." Sharing their thoughts, another fan said: "Looks nothing like her." Some people compared her to Jane Seymour, 74. One person wrote: "At first glance I thought it was the actress Jane Seymour." Another said: "Young Jane Seymour." Others suggested that they had initially mistaken her for singer Jennifer Lopez and former soap star Michelle Keegan. The caption also attracted attention. Some fans responded to Karren by sharing that people can wear short sleeved outfits no matter what their arms look like. One wrote in a comment: "Who said you couldn't wear short sleeves." One said: "Who's going to tell her that you can wear short sleeves whatever your arms look like? There aren't any rules, it's okay." Someone else wrote: "You could wear sleeveless tops without this. You can wear what you want." "But you could always wear sleeveless tops?" another questioned. Whilst one fan wrote to Karren: "I've got bingo wings but I don't care in this heat I'm wearing sleeveless tops and dresses!"
