Comedian and panel show favourite Sean Lock has died at the age of 58 from cancer, it has been announced.
As well as being a team captain on the series 8 Out of 10 Cats, hosted by Jimmy Carr, Sean also also appeared on QI, The Last Leg, Have I Got News for You, and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
He also wrote and starred in the popular BBC sitcom 15 Storeys High.
In a statement, fellow comedian Lee Mack, a close friend of Sean’s, described the news of his death as “heart-breaking”.
“A true original both in comedy and life. I will miss him so much”, Lee said.
A statement from his agent Off The Kerb Productions said: “It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Sean Lock. He died at home from cancer, surrounded by his family.
“Sean was one of Britain’s finest comedians, his boundless creativity, lightning wit and the absurdist brilliance of his work, marked him out as a unique voice in British comedy.
“Sean was also a cherished husband and father to three children. Sean will be sorely missed by all that knew him. We kindly request that the privacy of his family and children is respected at this difficult time.”
The worlds of comedy and entertainment have been paying tribute to the comic on Twitter following the news of his death.
Born in Woking, Surrey, Sean began working on building sites straight out of school but developed skin cancer, which he blamed on over-exposure to the sun. He made a full recovery and focused on a career in comedy.
Early on in his career, Sean appeared alongside fellow comics Rob Newman and David Baddiel on the 1993 series Newman and Baddiel In Pieces.
In 2000 he was named Best Live Comic at the British Comedy Awards.
He went on to host the Channel 4 series TV Heaven, Telly Hell in 2006 and co-hosted the Big Fat Quiz of the Year with James Corden in 2008.
But he was best known as a team captain on 8 Out Of 10 Cats, the comedy panel series hosted by Jimmy Carr.
He appeared on the first 18 series between 2005 and 2015, opposite team captains including Jason Manford and Jon Richardson.
He left the show in 2015 and was replaced by Rob Beckett at the beginning of series 19 but continued to appear opposite Jon Richardson and Jimmy Carr on the Countdown spin-off, with his most recent appearance airing in January.
He is survived by his wife Anoushka Nara Giltsoff, their two daughters and their son.
