Comedian Richard Herring claims he knows more about Christianity than many Christians. Roz Laws finds out why he’s revisiting his Christ on a Bike show.

Richard Herring and Stewart Lee have more in common than the fact they were once a comedy double act.

They have both managed to offend Christians with their work, discovering that making jokes about religion can open a nasty can of worms.

Stewart co-wrote Jerry Springer: The Opera, infamous for its irreverent treatment of Jesus, who’s depicted wearing a nappy and declaring he’s “a bit gay’”.

When it was broadcast on BBC2, more than 16,000 people complained and Christian organisations attempted to bring private prosecutions for blasphemy.

While he may not have elicited quite such a strong reaction, Stewart’s friend Richard Herring paved the way for upsetting Christians when he performed his first solo show.

Well, it was called Christ On A Bike.

Now, a decade on, he’s touring it again – and some people are still telling him he’s going to burn in hell.

The show sees atheist Richard examine his own obsession with Jesus and wonder if he is, in fact, the second coming of Christ.

He compares himself to Jesus to see whether he’s achieved as much, and at one point they have a bicycle race, with Richard pedalling away on an exercise bike on stage.

Despite the irreverence, Richard claims he really doesn’t set out to offend anyone.

“I’d say it’s a quite thoughtful, fair and balanced show, even though there are moments of rudeness,” says the 43-year-old.

“It’s about my own stupidity as much as the stupidity of Christianity.

“It’s surprising what people find offensive. I’ve had two complaints from people who haven’t even seen the show and whose emails are amusingly un-Christian.

"You’d think Christianity is about being reasonable and turning the other cheek, not delighting in the fact I’m going to burn in hell.

“My problem isn’t with Christ, but with the hypocrisy of Christians. Jesus is cool, it’s just the people who follow him are idiots. He’s like the Fonz in that respect.”

There’s no denying that Richard knows his stuff. He is very familiar with the Bible and has learnt the first page of the New Testament by heart, with its lengthy genealogy of Jesus, which proves he was descended from Abraham.

“I enjoy properly researching the show. I know a lot more about Christianity than some people who believe in it, who haven’t even read the New Testament. They just blindly believe it to be true. It’s weird to base your whole life on something and not research it properly.”

So why revisit the Christ On A Bike tour, a decade on?

“It was the first solo show I did. I wanted to do it again because I hope I’m a much better performer, and I think I have a new following.

“The core of it is the same, it’s stood up pretty well. But I do keep changing stuff so there’s plenty of new material in there.