Comedian Victoria Wood dies after cancer fight.

Comedian Victoria Wood has died at 62 after a short battle with cancer

Victoria Wood’s friend Julie Walters is leading tributes to the comedian who died, aged 62, at home with her family after a short battle with cancer.

Walters said in a statement: “Too heart sore to comment. The loss of her is incalculable.”

The pair forged a lifelong friendship while auditioning at Manchester Polytechnic’s student theatre as teenagers.

They went on to collaborate on a professional basis, most recently appearing together in December 2009 in Victoria Wood’s Mid Life Christmas.

Wood’s brother said her death “has robbed us of one of the brightest talents of our generation”.

Chris Foote Wood, 75, said: “It wasn’t just that Victoria was hugely talented in so many different fields, she was also outstanding in her tremendous, single-minded drive and determination to pursue her chosen career.”

Wood, who was born in Prestwich, Lancashire, was well known for her comedy series Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV, as well as her role in sitcom Dinnerladies and her TV special Victoria Wood With All The Trimmings.

In 2006 she won two Baftas for her drama Housewife, 49, an adaptation of the diaries of Nella Last.

Wood was showered with accolades for her live comedy and her tours broke records.

She performed a record-breaking 15 nights at the Royal Albert Hall in 1993 as part of a six-month tour of the country.

BBC director-general Tony Hall hailed her “stunning array of talents”, saying: “She brought people from all walks of life together and made them laugh and cry.”

Her long-term manager and friend, Phil McIntyre, said: “Victoria has been a part of our lives as a friend, devoted mother and national treasure for 30 years.

“She was always modest, generous and undemanding.

“A super person and a super and unique talent.

“There will be an unfillable void left on all levels and we will miss her deeply.”

The Royle Family’s Caroline Aherne said Wood had a “rare gift of making us laugh at the mundanities of life with a humour that was never cruel and only ever warm. A true comic genius.”

Pictures: Getty/David Redfern/PA/Hulton Archive. The many faces of Victoria Wood. From left: performing on stage in 2001, as Bren with her Dinnerladies co-stars and with her friend and frequent collaborator, Julie Walters.