Sean Lock: Comedian and 8 Out Of 10 Cats panellist dies aged 58
Comedian Sean Lock, best known for panel shows 8 Out Of 10 Cats and 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, has died aged 58, his agent told the PA news agency.
Lock, also known for the sitcom 15 Storeys High, died from cancer.
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.”
The statement added: “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.”
The world of comedy has paid tribute to Lock, including his friend comedian Lee Mack, who said: “I’ve known this day was coming for some time, but it’s no less heartbreaking.
Sean Lock performing at the annual Teenage Cancer Trust’s benefit week in 2006 at the Royal Albert Hall
“A true original both in comedy and life. I will miss him so much.”
John Bishop described Lock as a “great person” and Bill Bailey said he was a “wonderful” comic.
“It’s heartbreaking to lose my dearest friend Sean Lock, he was a true original, a wonderful comic. All my thoughts are with his family,” Bailey tweeted.
The TV star, who was known for his surreal content and deadpan style, has been a team captain on Jimmy Carr’s comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats and the spin-off 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown since 2005.
In 2010, Lock appeared alongside Katherine Jenkins on the Graham Norton Show
He was one of the team captains for the first 18 years, alongside host Jimmy Carr, Jason Manford and Jon Richardson.
Lock exited the show in 2015 and was replaced by Rob Beckett.
He was born in Woking, Surrey and began working on building sites in the early 1980s 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.
Lock was known for his appearances on popular panel shows, including 8 Out Of 10 Cats
His early professional TV appearance was in 1993, starring alongside Rob Newman and David Baddiel on Newman And Baddiel In Pieces.
In 1998, he script-edited Is It Bill Bailey? on BBC Two and had his own show called 15 Minutes of Misery on BBC Radio 4, which later expanded into 15 Storeys High.
The show was set in a tower block and centred on a pessimistic character called Vince (played by Lock) and his flatmate Errol, played by Benedict Wong.
Lock also appeared on panel shows including Have I Got News for You, QI, and They Think It’s All Over.
Lock performing during Amnesty International’s Secret Policeman’s Ball in 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall
In 2000 he won best live stand-up at the British Comedy Awards.
In 2006, Lock presented and produced TV Heaven, Telly Hell on Channel 4, where guests discussed their likes and dislikes about TV.
At the time, Lock spoke to the PA news agency and he said: “I think one of my all-time favourite shows is Catchphrase with Roy Walker. I loved it.
“I used to like Roy’s restraint, because, for a comedian, the opportunity to take the mick out of some of the ridiculous answers could have been too hard to resist.”
Guest appearances included Alan Davies, Johnny Vaughan, David Mitchell, Bailey, Johnny Vegas and Nick Hancock.
Fellow comedians, Richard Osman, Eddie Izzard and Davies paid tribute to Lock on Twitter.
Osman described Lock as a “unique and brilliant comic voice”, Izzard said he “brought a wonderful comedic talent to the world” and Davies, who met Lock at the start of their careers in 1988, said he was “funny on stage, hilarious off”.
He was married to Anoushka Nara Giltsoff and had three children with the comedian.
Irish-language rap group Kneecap have announced a surprise London show, hours after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.
Liam O’Hanna, or Liam Og O Hannaidh, was charged with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, at a concert in London last November, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
Just hours later, Kneecap announced on their Instagram account that “we’re back”, adding that they would perform at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, London, on Thursday night.
The post also included a quote by former Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon, who told ITV’s Good Morning Britain the rap trio “maybe (…) need a bloody good kneecapping” after footage of the band allegedly calling for the deaths of MPs emerged.
Kneecap performing in Belfast last year. Pic: PA
Kneecap apologised to the families of murdered MPs last month, but said footage of the incident at their concert had been “exploited and weaponised”, adding that they “never supported” Hamas or Hezbollah.
The rappers had gigs cancelled after the footage emerged and politicians pushed for Kneecap to be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch calling for Kneecap to be banned.
The group from Belfast in Northern Ireland is still set to headline Wide Awake Festival in south London on Friday.
Read more from Sky News:
Passengers injured after train hits trailer on level crossing
Publication of final Letby inquiry report pushed back
In response to O’Hanna being charged, Kneecap said that they “deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves” and branded it “political policing” in a bid to “silence voices of compassion”.
The charge came after counter-terror police assessed a video said to be from a Kneecap concert.
In the footage, O’Hanna is allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, on 21 November last year.
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware of a video circulating online on 22 April and an investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge, the force said.
O’Hanna – who performs under the stage name Mo Chara – is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway