Michael McIntyre has set a new record.

Last night he began a new run of run of seven shows at The O2 arena in London, and was presented backstage with an award by the venue, for breaking their sales record. He has now sold nearly half a million tickets at the arena.

The comedian first performed at The O2 in 2009 and, nine years later, by the end of this run, will have made his 28th headline performance. He performed four shows in 2009, ten in 2012 and seven in 2015, plus - on top - has appeared on the stage multiple times as part of Channel 4's Comedy Gala.

It total, it's been calculated he's now sold over 409,238 tickets at the arena. The title was previously held by the band Take That.

McIntyre was presented with a frame that included a plaque and his four show posters.

Programming Director Emma Bownes says: "To have broken this record is a huge achievement and a testament to Michael McIntyre's continued popularity with fans.

"We had the pleasure of presenting him with the keys to The O2 in 2015 when he hit the magic 21 shows - a record first established by Prince in 2007 - and every show he's done here has been brilliant. We'd like to thank and congratulate him and the team at Off The Kerb."

Following his run of shows at the The O2, McIntyre will also bring his Big World Tour show to the Wembley Arena (Tickets from Ticketmaster). He then takes a break, before returning to touring in 2019 with runs in Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Dubai.

In amongst his live shows, McIntyre is also currently recording another series of his TV series, Michael McIntyre's Big Show. Series 4 will be shown on BBC One later this year.