Comedian Jimmy Carr takes dig at New Plymouth

British comedian Jimmy Carr has taken a dig at New Plymouth upon his arrival to New Zealand for a tour.

Carr tweeted a picture of a knitted version of himself infront of a mural created by Kiwi artist Dside.

“I’m in New Zealand. First gig of the tour is in New Plymouth, which is frankly no improvement on the original,” Carr tweeted.

According to Te Ara, the site where New Plymouth is now was originally called Ngāmotu (the islands), and was occupied by Māori for hundreds of years.

A trading station was established in 1828, followed by planned settlement in the early 1840s by the Plymouth Company, which was bringing immigrants from Devon and Cornwall to the 'New' Plymouth.

Plymouth is a port city in Devon.

It's not the first time a British comedian has taken a dig at New Zealand cities.

When John Cleese visited in 2005 he expressed his appreciation for cities like Wellington, which he described as "sophisticated, fun and lively". The same courtesy wasn't given to Palmerston North, with the comedian describing it in a podcast as "grotty", among other things.

In retaliation, local authorities named the city's dump site after the comedian, creating what many know as Mt Cleese.

Carr begins his Terribly Funny tour in New Plymouth tonight.