Barry Humphries, who played Dame Edna Everage, has died at the age of 89.
The veteran Australian comedian had been readmitted to hospital after suffering complications following hip surgery last month.
The entertainer played the lilac-haired drag persona on stage and TV for more than 60 years.
Image: The Australian entertainer was made a CBE in 2007. Pic: AP
Arguably Australia’s single most famous comedy export, the self-described giga-star was known for her extravagant spectacles, rapier wit, double entendres, fondness for gladioli flowers and the famous greeting “Hello possums!”.
Humphries also played Sir Les Patterson, an unkempt, lecherous, uncouth, drunken character who held multiple fictional diplomatic positions, including cultural attaché to the Far East and minister for the yartz (arts).
Other creations included Sandy Stone
A statement from Humphries’ family said: “He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit.
“With over 70 years on the stage, he was an entertainer to his core, touring up until the last year of his life and planning more shows that will sadly never be.
“His audiences were precious to him, and he never took them for granted.
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“Although he may be best remembered for his work in theatre, he was a painter, author, poet, and a collector and lover of art in all its forms.
“He was also a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and a friend and confidant to many.
“His passing leaves a void in so many lives.
“The characters he created, which brought laughter to millions, will live on.”
Paying tribute, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said: “For 89 years, Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone.
“But the brightest star in that galaxy was always Barry.
“A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift. May he rest in peace.”
Humphries became a staple of the British comedy circuit after moving from Australia to London in 1959 and appearing in West End shows such as Maggie May and Oliver.
He was among the leading members of the British comedy scene, alongside Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Spike Milligan.
Journalist and broadcaster Andrew Neil recalled the “funny, hugely literate, fiercely smart” Humphries, tweeting: “So sad to learn Barry Humphries has passed away.
“When I visited him in his Sydney Hospital two weeks ago he was ailing from several health problems. But his spirits and wit were as acute as ever.
“We laughed away as the stories poured out.”
He added: “I count myself lucky and privileged I got to see him one more time. A comic genius the likes of which we will never see again.”
Comedian Ricky Gervais tweeted: “Farewell, Barry Humphries, you Comedy genius.”
Impressionist Rory Bremner wrote on social media: “Heavens. With the passing of #barryhumphries we lose an all-time great.
“Lightning quick, subversive, mischievous, widely read, deeply knowledgeable about art, music & literature- & savagely funny.
“Dame Edna arguably the greatest comic persona ever. Les Patterson too. True genius.”
Australian actor Jason Donovan tweeted: “Australia has lost one of its greatest.
“Funny, literate and fiercely intelligent, Barry Humphries was quite simply an entertaining genius.
“The characters he created brought laughter to millions… My thoughts are with family on this sad day.”
Fellow comedian Matt Lucas, who posted a picture of the pair together on Twitter, described the star as “quite simply the greatest”.
Married four times, Humphries is survived by his wife Lizzie Spender and four children.
Snoop Dogg has become a co-owner and investor of Swansea, with the US rapper hailing the Welsh football club as “an underdog that bites back, just like me”.
The former Premier League club, which plays in the English second tier, confirmed theUS rapper and producer plans to use his own money to invest in it, Sky Sports reports, although it didn’t disclose financial details.
“My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City,” the music icon said in the announcement.
“The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me,” he added. “This is a proud, working class city and club.
“An underdog that bites back, just like me.
“I’m proud to be part of Swansea City. I am going to do all I can to help the club.”
Swansea’s American owners, led by Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, are trying to grow the Championship club’s global brand and increase commercial revenue.
Snoop Dogg, 53, who has 89m followers on Instagram and more than 20m on X, helped launch the team’s 2025-26 home shirt last weekend.
The club ownership group said: “To borrow a phrase from Snoop’s back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club’s reach and profile.”
Luka Modric, who recently signed with AC Milan from Real Madrid, joined Swansea’s ownership group in April.
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Image: Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
Image: The fire gutted the main stage
Image: Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Image: Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
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The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Image: Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.