Canadian comedian Russell Peters claims to have broken the record for the biggest ever comedy audience in the UK – by just 24 seats.

He filled London’s O2 Arena at the weekend, selling 15,924 tickets – just a handful more than Chris Rock sold at the same venue in May last year.

The box office success comes despite Peters having little mainstream media profile in the UK. He has instead built up an audience for his racially-themed material over the internet and by word of mouth.

However, Peters has a long way to go to beat the world record, held by German comedian Mario Barth. He filled Berlin’s Olympic Stadium last July, selling an estimated 70,000 tickets.