Buzzcocks TV comedy star drinks himself to death at 51
‘I’m tedious when sober’
COMEDIAN Sean Hughes, a team captain on BBC pop quiz Never Mind The Buzzcocks, died yesterday aged 51.
The Irish stand-up star, a panellist on the show for six years, had liver disease following ‘years of hedonism’.
Hughes was 24 when he became the youngest person to win the top prize in British comedy, the Perrier Award, at the 1990 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Yesterday fellow comedian David Baddiel called him ‘one of the best comics of our generation’ as others paid tribute to the star.
In 2015 Hughes spoke about the ‘extreme hedonism’ which once saw him overdose on amphetamines. He revealed that the previous year he had quit drinking after his jacket caught fire at party, but added that his friends were ‘ uncomfortable’ when he was sober.
‘I quit drinking totally for a couple of years because I was having too many “proper” drinks,’ he said. ‘I knew I was drinking too much when I had to be put out at a party. I don’t mean I was asked to leave. My jacket was on fire.
‘When I started drinking again, I thought my friends would be concerned, but they welcomed my return with a “great to have you back” attitude. Apparently I’m tedious when sober. People were uncomfortable when I wasn’t drinking. It made them question their own habits.’
In another interview, he predicted: ‘I honestly don’t think I’m going to live very long. Many comedians don’t. It’s a very stressful existence.’ A representative for Hughes confirmed he died in Whittington Hospital, North London, after being taken there during the night.
His final tweet, posted on October 8, simply said: ‘In hospital.’ Paying tribute yesterday, comedian Sarah Millican said: ‘So sad to hear of Sean Hughes death. He was the first comic I ever saw live. A very funny man. Awful news.’
Jack Dee wrote: ‘ Very sad to hear about Sean Hughes. Started on the circuit with him back in the day. RIP.’
Hughes was not one to shy away from controversy, sometimes finding himself in hot water for his jokes – including calling Pope Benedict a Nazi.
Hughes was born in London to Irish parents, a mother from Cork and a father from Dublin, and had two brothers, Alan and Martin. The family moved back to Dublin when he was six, and he recalled ‘getting stick’ for his Cockney twang.
Hughes never married and had no children, explaining in 2015: ‘I have lived on my own for most of my life and I am very happy.
‘I don’t think I am cut out to get married and have kids. I am quite selfish and like to do things my way.’
As well as starring on Buzzcocks with Phill Jupitus and Mark Lamarr, Hughes was also an actor, appearing in The Last Detective, Coronation Street, Agatha Christie’s Marple and Casualty, and produced two collections of prose and poetry.
Roy Dotrice has died at the age of 94. Born in Guernsey, he developed a taste for acting while a PoW in the Second World War.
He played Leopold Mozart in the Oscar-winning 1984 film Amadeus, and had countless television roles to his credit, most recently appearing in Game Of Thrones in 2012. His daughter Michele played Betty in Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em.