Michael McIntyre has revealed he cut a joke about coronavirus from his new Netflix comedy special, which was recorded earlier this year.

The comedian’s latest stand-up show – which is now available to watch on the streaming service – was filmed in front of a live audience in March just weeks before the UK went into lockdown.

Speaking about the comedy special, titled Michael McIntyre: Showman in an interview on Jessie Ware’s Table Manners podcast, he said that he made the decision to take one gag about the pandemic out of his set.

“I did a joke about [coronavirus],” Michael explained. “I introduced myself on stage when all the hand washing stuff was starting and I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together and wash them for 30 seconds as we welcome Michael McIntyre’.

“I actually came on and said, ‘This could be the last time we get together in a crowd’. I said it as a joke! I should never have said that.”

He then added that he “took all that stuff” out of the finished special, noting: “There are a few more jokes in the Netflix special which I’m hoping are still funny but it’s worried me slightly.”

Michael previously revealed to Metro that he considered taking one anecdote out of the set, which saw him confusing disposable underwear for a face mask when he went for a massage in Hong Kong.

“I have to be honest with you,” he said. “I’ve been worrying about it for months about whether that joke is still funny. I would wake my wife up in the middle of the night and go, ‘Is this thing funny?’.”

“I had other jokes about it, and then now it’s commonplace and we’re all wearing these masks and it’s a completely reasonable mistake to make,” he added.

Michael McIntyre: Showman is now streaming on Netflix. Listen to his interview in full on Jessie Ware’s Table Manners podcast.