Comedian had cancer

Victoria Wood has died at the age of 62, after being diagnosed with cancer, her publicist has said.

Neil Reading issued a statement saying: 'Victoria Wood has sadly passed away, after a short but brave battle with cancer.

'The multi Bafta award-winning writer, director, actor and comedian died peacefully at her north London home with family this morning. She was 62.

'The family ask for privacy at this very sad time.'

Wood's official Twitter page confirmed: 'We are devastated to confirm that our very special Victoria has sadly lost her short battle with cancer. Thank you for your support & love.'

Tributes have been pouring in to the star, among them one from Ricky Gervais who tweeted: 'RIP the brilliant Victoria Wood. So innovative, funny and down to earth. This has not been a good year.'

Writer Caitlin Moran said: 'Seeing Victoria Wood on TV - working class, bookish, silly, clever, doing stand-up, singing, acting - made me think "Girls can do this."'

And Rory Bremner said: 'No. NO.This is too much.Now lovely, warm, funny, brilliantly talented Victoria Wood has gone.Words, songs, plays, she wrote the lot.So sad.'

Wood was still a drama student at Birmingham University when she got her first break, winning the ITV talent show New Faces in 1973, at just 20 years old.

She had wanted to be a performer since seeing a live show by Joyce Grenfell at the age of six. But the talent show victory wasn't the instant passport to success she might have hoped for, as her inexperience meant any live gigs went badly.

In 1976, she became a regular on the consumer show That's Life! singing a weekly comedy song, and supported Jasper Carrott on tour that year. She also met her husband, magician Geoffrey Durham, that same year. They divorced in 2002.

Her writing also provided another route to fame. In 1978, she wrote and performed a sketch for the In At The Death revue show at London's Bush Theatre, acting alongside Julie Walters for the first time.

A year later, Wood wrote an award-winning play called Talent for Granada, set on the northern club circuit and starring herself and Walters.

The pair had their own ITV sketch show, which only ran for one series, but the partnership was enduring, with Walters a regular on her As Seen On TV BBC shows (which included the spoof soap Acorn Antiques), her sitcom Dinnerladies and various one-offs. The pair alternated the role of Mrs Overall when Acorn Antiques became an unlikely West End show in 2004. And they were reunited in 2009 for the one-off Victoria Wood’s Mid Life Christmas.

In 2006 she wrote the one-off ITV drama Housewife, 49, set in wartime Lancashire, marking a move away from comedy. For the 2011 Manchester International Festival, Wood wrote and directed That Day We Sang, a musical set in 1969 with flashbacks to 1929, and the following year her drama Loving Miss Hatto about concert pianist Joyce Hatto was aired on BBC One.

Her other credits include playing Eric Morecambe’s mum Sadie in the 2011 BBC drama Eric and Ernie, and taking part in a celebrity version of The Great British Bake Off for Comic Relief last year.

As well as her TV work, Wood wrote a number of comedy books, including It's Up to You, Porky, Barmy and Mens Sana In Thingummy Doodah.

She was awarded the OBE in 1997 and the CBE in 2008. In 2005, she and Julie Walters were given the British Comedy Award for Outstanding Achievement, and in 2011 Wood collected the Chortle Award for outstanding achievement from Richard E Grant.

She also won six Baftas, a Writers' Guild Award and a Broadcasting Press Guild Award, among many others.

Published: 20 Apr 2016