COMEDIAN Freddie Starr, below, cancelled a Blackburn gig for the second time in three years.

The Liverpudlian funnyman, 72, was due to play at Thwaites Empire Theatre on Saturday evening.

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In a statement on Friday, the venue said: “Unfortunately Freddie Starr has cancelled for this Saturday due to ill health. Tickets already purchased will be refunded from Tuesday of next week. Sorry for any disappointment caused.”

Yesterday, they added: “Thank you to everyone at the theatre for being so understanding about Freddie Starr cancelling. We managed to contact most people fortunately and only two people were annoyed at us. That’s not bad out of a full audience. Apologies to them but we did try to contact you.”

Starr previously cancelled a performance at King George’s Hall in October 2012.