There was “frustration” as “over 85,000” people tried to book 110 seats to see Michael McIntyre in Hemel Hempstead.

Tens of thousands of the The Wheel host's fans missed out on tickets for The Old Town Hall in the High Street, as the venue says “only a lucky few” managed to bag seats.

Some people reported the website had crashed for them, but the Old Town Hall’s social media denied it had gone down, and also denied rumours that any tickets were allocated in advance.

Instead, the venue said, all 110 seats had sold out in under 5 minutes with most seats held in baskets within 10 seconds of the show going on sale.

In a post on Facebook, it added: “We do understand your frustration, but please keep in mind that the theatre industry has been through a lot over the last few years and we can only stay open with support from you, our loyal customers.

“Booking Michael McIntyre is a huge success for our venue and we have even more big named comedians and acts to come.”

The stand-up will be trying out brand new material at the hall on January 13, after tickets went on sale on January 9 for £15.