Jack Whitehall says he was sacked as a waiter for trying out jokes on customers

Jack Whitehall has said he was sacked as a waiter when he was starting out in comedy because he was trying out new material on customers.

The comedian told the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen that a diner complained to his manager that he was spending too much time talking to them.

Whitehall said: “I was a waiter once and I got sacked because I’d just started doing stand-up comedy and the manager had a complaint.

“I kept trying out my half-baked jokes on customers and they complained that I was too chatty and they didn’t want my jokes and so they had to get rid of me.”

He added that he would “pull up a chair” so that he could chat with customers.

“To be fair it was pretty ropey material back in the day,” Whitehall said.

“Some would argue it hasn’t got much better, but at least in a comedy club they have come to hear it and in a restaurant they just come to mind their own business and I was forcing these jokes upon them and it was not appreciated.”

The Fresh Meat star added that he “did a lot of nose picking on the floor as well, which they don’t like in restaurants”.

“I’m not proud of it”, he said.