A star was loudly booed as soon as he turned on his Sir Keir Starmer impression at the Royal Variety Performance watched by the Prince and Princess of Wales, it was revealed today.
Actor and comedian Duncan Wisbey briefly had to pause due to the cacophony of jeers at the Royal Albert Hall when he aped the Prime Minister’s voice on stage.
But the boos turned to laughter when Mr Wisbey, as Sir Keir, joked that ‘everyone in Britain’ wants him kicked out of 10 Downing Street.
Watching from the Royal Box were William and Kate – but their reaction to the gag was not on camera.
The boos rang out when the cast of BBC comedy Dead Ringers were on stage and Mr Wisbey said he would be playing the Prime Minister as part of a Traitors-themed performance.
‘Thank you, thank you. It’s so lovely to be here’, he said in the perfect Starmer-style stutter.
As the boos rang out – and then became laughs – he said: ‘I’ve actually developed a brilliant strategy for surviving the round table by making sure that no one will vote for me ever again.
‘It’s called, “Being Keir Starmer”. I have a theory, actually, about who wants to get rid of me and I’ve narrowed it down to, erm, everyone in Britain.’
Actor and comedian Duncan Wisbey briefly had to pause due to the cacophony of jeers at the Royal Albert Hall when he aped the Prime Minister’s voice on stage.
The stars of Dead Ringers on stage at the Royal Albert Hall
Sir Keir was booed, despite not being at the annual Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance was aired on Sunday on ITV at 7pm, although it was filmed back in November.
The Princess of Wales, 43, who announced she is in remission from cancer in January, was radiant as she walked the red carpet at Royal Albert Hall wearing a gorgeous, dark green velvet gown.
Kate paired her delightfully festive dress with matching Manolo Blahnik pumps and diamond accessories from Cartier.
Prince William, who also looked dapper in evening dress, was spotted belting out the national anthem to kick start the show.
Jessie J sang a new track titled ‘I’ll Never Know Why’ off her forthcoming album, an emotional tribute to her late bodyguard and close friend, Dave, who died by suicide years ago.
She came after Stephen Fry performed as his character Lady Bracknell from the 2025 West End production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, discussing all the etiquette dos and don’t, such as don’t play music out loud on the bus.
The Princess of Wales and Prince William seemed to love the show
He also went on to tease the Prince of Wales about his beloved football club Aston Villa saying: ‘Dinner jackets, which is the correct attire for events, dinners, and popping along to watch Aston Villa… lose’.
BBC Radio 4’s Dead Ringers impersonated a huge selection of celebrities tonight – most notably mocking President Trump and Keir Starmer, whose very name caused the audience to erupt with boos.
Another spectacular performance celebrated the 40th anniversary of Les Misérables, which had a whopping 400 performers on stage.
Keeping in line with tradition, magician Harry Moulding finally took to the stage after winning the 2025 edition of Britain’s Got Talent.
On top of this, Johannes Radebe showcased an extract from the award-winning musical Kinky Boots and America’s Got Talent winners Adrian Stoica and his border collie Hurricane made their British debut with a special choreographed routine.
Comic Jason Manford kicked off the show with a couple of jokes about his children being middle-class
Stephen Fry performed as his character Lady Bracknell from the 2025 West End production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, discussing all the etiquette dos and don’t
Early on in the show, Irish boyband Westlife performed some of their greatest hits, leaving fans delighted as Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan took to the stage.
Sadly band member Mark Feehily was not there after he had to take a step back in February 2024 due to ill health.
The first performance of the evening came from McFly’s Tom Fletcher, who introduced a sneak peek of Paddington: The Musical where the lovable bear is controlled by a remote puppeteer James Hameed.
Comic Jason Manford kicked off the show with a couple of jokes about his children being middle-class and him having been from a working-class background.
He joked that he had created ‘monsters’ who refused to ‘smashed avocado’ because it was warm but it was in fact mushy peas – which luckily got a laugh from the Princess of Wales.
At one point, he also made fun of them for wanting ‘crudités’ at a picnic, and laughing at houses that ‘stuck together’.
The variety show is aimed at families and features acts from the worlds of music, dance, comedy and other specialities.
Jessie J sung a new track titled ‘I’ll Never Know Why’ off her forthcoming album. It is a deeply personal and emotional tribute to her late bodyguard and close friend, Dave, who died by suicide years ago
But the first performance of the evening came from McFly’s Tom Fletcher, who introduced a sneak peak of Paddington: The Musical where the lovable bear is controlled by a remote puppeteer James Hameed
Footage from before the event showed the Princess sweetly petting the dog perched at the feet of an attendee, as she appeared to forget that cameras were trained on her.
The princess was also seen sharing an emotional moment with Jessie J as the pair discussed their individual cancer battles.
Jessie, who is continuing to undergo cancer treatment and was forced to cancel her US tour dates in order to have surgery, appeared on Good Morning America recently and explained how she broke protocol to hug Kate at the Royal Variety Performance.
Speaking to host Maggie Rulli on December 5, Jessie recalled her conversation with the Princess.
‘She just said, ‘Thank you, I know you’ve gone through a tough time.’ I said, ‘I know you have too’,’ the singer revealed.
‘I just said, ‘I want to acknowledge that, mum to mum, cancer survivor to cancer survivor. I see you, and I feel you. Can I give you a hug?”
The princess, 43, who announced she is in remission from cancer in January, was radiant as she walked the red carpet at Royal Albert Hall wearing a gorgeous, dark green velvet gown
The princess was also seen sharing an emotional moment with Jessie J as the pair discussed their individual cancer battles
Traditionally, people are not allowed to touch a member of the Royal Family – but Kate gave permission to Jessie to embrace her, showing her care and compassion.
Jason Manford said of his hosting duties: ‘The Royal Variety Performance is always such a spectacular night, so I’m genuinely chuffed to be asked back as host. The last time I did it was in 2020 – which, if you remember, was during the pandemic. I had a virtual audience… was like doing a gig in front of a Curry’s window!..
‘Nothing says showbiz quite like getting heckled by someone who’s accidentally left their mic on while eating crisps. So I’m very excited to see some actual real-life human faces in the audience this time!’
