Irish comedian and TV panellist Sean Hughes

Irish comedian Sean Hughes has died aged 51.

He was best known for being a panellist on BBC2’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and for writing and starring in his own sitcom, Sean’s Show, in the early 1990s.

In 1990 Hughes was 24 when he became the youngest winner of the main prize at the Perrier Comedy Awards, now known as the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, for his stand-up show A One Night Stand With Sean Hughes.

He also appeared in TV programmes including Coronation Street and The Last Detective, and in Alan Parker’s film The Commitments in 1991.

He returned to Edinburgh in 2007 after a seven-year break with his show The Right Side Of Wrong.

In 2015, Hughes joined the cast of the Olivier Award-winning production of The Railway Children.

Away from the stage and screen, Hughes was also a writer and had penned two collections of prose and poetry, including Sean’s Book.

He wrote best-selling novels The Detainees and It’s What He Would Have Wanted.

The Last Leg host Adam Hills shared an emotional tribute to Hughes, and said the Irish comedian recently revealed he would be leaving his property to charity when he died.

Hughes died yesterday in hospital, a representative for the comedian, actor and writer confirmed.

Australian comedian Hills said in a statement shared on Twitter: “I’m heartbroken to hear of the death of my friend Sean Hughes.

“I spent a bit of time with him over the last few years and he seemed to me to be in good health and good spirits.

“Creatively and personally he appeared to have reached a ‘zen’ state of comedy – he loved doing it for the sake of doing it, and had found an easy, effortless way of bringing laughter to an audience.

“He recently told me that when he died, he was leaving his property to a couple of charities, so at least there is one ray of light today.”

According to reports, Hughes’s death was caused by liver cirrhosis, a condition caused by long-term liver damage.

He died just over a week after he posted his final tweet on October 8, in which he told his followers he was in hospital.

Hughes wrote in the Irish Times in 2014 of his relationship with alcohol, and that he once stopped drinking for a while because he was “drinking too much”, before starting again.

He continued: “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.”

Hughes is survived by his two brothers, Alan and Martin.

Sean Hughes died at the age of 51.