Comedian Jason Manford has denied that his own stand-up material was cut from ITV's Show Me the Funny, reports Chortle .
In a message to Facebook fans, Manford explained:
"But, I was never booked to do stand-up so no one has "edited out my gags". The show isn't about me, it's about giving new comics a chance to shine on ITV1, hopefully securing them a bright future and an amazing prize."
Manford's clarification came after The Sun reported on Wednesday that Manford was supposed to perform ten minutes of his own material at the top of the programme – but that Universal Pictures had blocked the move due to rights issues surrounding his next DVD.
The paper quoted him as saying: "They edited all my bits out. It's all very complicated. I've got a DVD coming out and I'm on tour, and a certain production company owns my sets."
The show, branded 'The Apprentice for Comedians', attracted an average of 2.7 million viewers, reported Telemix. Judged by Alan Davies and Katie Copstick, each week, the six-part series will see 10 comedians compete against each other to win £100,000, a national tour and a DVD deal.