Tributes to comedian Bobby Ball

Tommy Cannon has said he is “devastated” following the death of his comedy partner Bobby Ball at the age of 76.

The comedian, actor and author had been in hospital with breathing problems and tested positive for Covid-19.

He died at Blackpool Victoria Ho s p i t a l on Wednesday.

A statement from his manager Phil Dale said: “Bobby had been taken to the hospital for tests as he started with breathing problems.

“At first it was thought to be a chest infection but a test proved positive for Covid-19.

“His wife Yvonne said the hospital and staff could not have been more wonderful.

“She said that the family and Tommy would like to express their sincere thanks to the many, many people who have been fans of Bobby and they know that they will all share in part the great loss and total sadness that Yvonne, the family and Tommy all feel.”

Cannon, with whom Ball found fame on the smash hit The Cannon And Ball Show, which ran from 1979 to 1988, said: “Rock on, my good friend, I can’t believe this, I’m devastated.”

The duo also starred in the films The Boys In Blue (1982) and Mr H Is Late (1988), and appeared on

I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2005.

Ball was born Robert Harper on January 28 1944 in Oldham, and met Cannon, real name Thomas Derbyshire, while working in a factory as a welder.

After the success of The Cannon And Ball Show he appeared in a string of TV series including Last Of The Summer Wine.

He also appeared in Heartbeat, Mount Pleasant, Benidorm and The Cockfields. Since 2009 Ball played Lee Ma c k ’s troublesome father in BBC1 sitcom Not Going Out.

Ball is survived by two sons, Robert and Darren, with his first wife Joan Lynn, as well as his daughter Jo a n n e w i t h Yvonne Nugent.

The couple had been married for 46 years, have 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In March, he starred in a video posted on the Blackpool Te a c h i n g Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s YouTube channel singing the Cannon and Ball theme song Together We’ll Be OK.

The trust wrote that the video aimed to unite everyone in the earliest days of the pandemic.

At the end of the song, in a now poignant message, Ball said: “Now I mean that – together we’ll all be OK if we pull together. See you later!”

POIGNANT: Bobby Ball, pictured during the heyday of The Cannon And Ball Show in the 1980s, recorded a video this year in a bid to raise people’s spirits during the Covid crisis.